Fighting to survive
by lavocecitaquenosecalla
Summary: Zach Varmitech is sick of seeing the Kratt Brothers ruin his plans over and over again, he's tired of being beaten and humiliated every time he sets in motion a new plan. Finally, he has decided to go one step further; is determined to get rid of those who get in his way once and for all.
1. Then the bird said Nevermore

I can't have my own pool in a hot place...

I can't have my own animal show...

I can't have the best security robots...

I can't have a simple black wooden table...

I can't tolerate it anymore! I can't go on being the object of the ridicule of those foolish brothers I'm tired, I'm tired! Damn, I can't stand it anymore!  
\- Pray a dark being who has reached the limit of what his narcissistic ego can tolerate – It is not possible that I, who possesses the highest master mind inventor of all kinds of machinery, is constantly ... humiliated ... despised ... by those useless and ridiculous animal lovers, No!, No more!, I swear by the hatred that has accumulated inside me, that will never happen again, never! No matter how far I have to go, what to do or who must suffer, nor how, neither where nor when.

It is heard in the middle of the night, the voice full of rage that comes from a thin figure, pale and dark at the same time; who solitary, wanders on the roof of a huge building in the middle of the most bustling city in the world, where his cries of self-imposed pain and rage are drowned by the sound of thunder and rain that are present. This particular evening marks the tenth anniversary of his first move into public humiliation by the hand of a pair of subjects named Kratt.

That's where it all started, when in high school, about to receive the first prize at the science fair for his innovative robotics project is pointed out by a couple of brothers thanks to which his project is disqualified for considering it "Unethical ", " Out of the Expected Standards ", " Cruel ". That's when it started, a series of events that were gradually carrying within the personality of Zach Varmitech the meaning of the word "Hate" to its highest level.

\- With each occasion that those two damn meddlers who were gradually including others like them who also ... also focused on humiliate me and trample me - With his fists firmly tightened, until he leaves marks of rage in his own hands he constantly repeats himself that mantra he has unconsciously chosen.

Completely wrapped in his thoughts, letting these dark feelings take him by the hand and lead him to a path no one should ever tread. Zach Varmitech walks the path of hatred, of revenge that day by day has become an entire highway of negative emotions that have easily managed to affect the feeble mind of its owner, who unfortunately; has no one who can extend a hand at the time he is most vulnerable, only has the cold metal and solitary computers that cleverly works to give life to their projects and that from now on will be the means to achieve finally, get the long-awaited revenge against their hated enemies.

\- There must be a way in which I can get rid of them and of all their group of followers, no one will go unpunished, but first they. How, how? Every time I try, There they are! Pushing their noses, ruining everything, snatching from my hands my great inventions, destroying my precious technology. And for what? To save their precious animals! Simple mindless rags that should only be in the circuses and at the tables of the restaurants - Without truce to his emotions continues almost until dawn without worrying to be totally drenched by the cold rain.

"There must be a way, think Zach, think, what will be the best way to make them suffer." Suddenly, an idea assaults his mind, coming from the old proverb that reads "Divide and conquer."

-I must first of all separate them, they are always together, inside their ship when they travel around the world, in the jungle rescuing animals, when they fly over the city in their stupid bird costumes, to separate them, and then ... Forcing them to face each other - With a sinister expression that clearly reflects his intentions, Zach begins to devise a plan to make the Kratt brothers become rivals and see from his throne which of them is the winner and which becomes the loser, just as it should have been when ruined their fight of wild animals in Antarctica.

\- Yes, yes, in the Arctic, they must have been the ones who faced death instead of the animals, after all, they are practically animals half the time, and since they both enjoy their suits ... Why not force them to fight turned into wild animals? Oh dear, it will be great! Yes, it will be perfect, first I will force them to fight against their precious animals until they have to kill them to survive, it will be something really special to see their faces when they have to kill the stupid animals that they have rescued themselves and later, they will simply have to decide which brother lives and which brother dies, Yes - A macabre laugh explodes from the depths of his throat, that euphoric full of his being while congratulating himself for achieving such an evil plan that his old self, weak and coward, would never have been able to warp.

\- Now it only remains to find a way to do it, to achieve in the first instance to separate the members of the team, kidnap the brothers and force them to fight - The smile was erased from his face, being replaced by a dark look he did obscuring his strident green eyes, almost like a veil at a funeral.


	2. And so begins

At the Everglades, in Florida, a group of researchers is surveying populations of foreign species that have invaded the swamp habitat.

\- Here at the Everglades, both animal and plant species are widely distributed due to the lack of awareness of some people who released unwanted pets into a habitat to which they don't belong or that were unintentionally introduced when transported in food shipments or raw materials from other parts of the world - Start the talk to a group of students and volunteers who are being led today by a pair of adventurers invited by the professor of biology of a local university - Some of them compete directly with native species for resources such as food and territory and even many of the native species are being directly devoured and replaced by these foreign species - Inspires Martin Kratt, zoologist and adventurer, who is also a full time animal rescuer.

\- To mention only some of these species, among them there are insects such as the Bromeliad Beetle and the White Fly, fish such as the Plecostomus Catfish and the Asian Swamp Eel, some invertebrates such as the Apple Snail, birds like the Sacred Ibis, and the Purple Swamphen, amphibians such as the Marine Toad, some reptiles such as the Burmese Python and even Morelet´s Crocodiles and, if that were not enough, mammals like the Gambian Pouch Rat. But not only animals but also many plants as the Boat Lily, the Sago Palm, the Common Bamboo and the Java Plum, just to mention a few – Completing with vast information the younger brother, Chris Kratt who also holds the title of biologist and performs the same activities as his older brother.

The talk and research activities of the group extend for several hours until afternoon. After reuniting again the various groups formed to share the collected information and be given to the university to being analyzed, the brothers finally bid farewell to the group and retire to their mobile base. The Tortuga HQ, a huge flying ship designed by the inventor Aviva Corcovado, who is one of the best engineers in the world and also a member of the team Kratt, along with another amazing engineer who, like famous artists uses only her first name Koki, and the skillful but distracted pilot Jimmy Z make up the ship's crew and support the brothers in their missions around the world in each animal rescue.

\- Hey everyone, we´re back! - Martin announces his arrival to the ship as they leave on the ground all the exploration equipment they took that day during their tour at the Everglades - Hey hey! Un momento ustedes dos! - Aviva tells them before they can even take a second step inside the ship – You´re not thinking to leave all that wet and muddy equipment on the floor as well as that right? I just cleaned up - Welcome Kratt brothers! - Koki receives them with a tone a little friendlier than the unexpected scolding of Aviva – Oh come on!, Don´t be so hard with them friend, just look how miserable they are all filled with mud and sweat and with all those scratches ... Yeah, you really look terrible, so how much did you guys do?

\- It was an amazing day, we saw a great variety of both animal and vegetable species both native and exotic - Chris starts with emotion his list of activities – You two were to accompany us, the best of the day was when we found a huuuge 15 foot Burmese Python, it was inside a nest, And it had 85 eggs!, fortunately we managed to capture it and remove the eggs from the nest, so these young will be born in captivity and will not be part of the Everglades invaders - Tells Martin proudly showing the bite that the snake gave him in one arm. – Well, it wasn't so easy, but we did it.

\- Jimmy watches with amazement the mark that the snake's teeth left – Whoa! That must have hurt, I better go by the first aid kit before it gets infected… or small snakes starts to come out of your arm, I dunno -

The day after his tour at the Everglades, the team Kratt receives a call for help from Africa, one of the boys from the international team warns them that male lions have been disappearing from Kenya's savannas, leaving the herds without their protectors and threatens their survival - But not only the lions are disappearing, also leopards, hippos, buffalo and crocodiles are no longer seen by the team of documentalists directed by my parents - comments the boy through his Lap top, directly to the Tortuga monitors - Thank you very much, my friend, we will investigate this case too, keep us informed if your parents' team discovers something, Team Kratt Out - Koki responds with great disbelief -

\- Guys, this isn't normal at all - Chris comments to the team who is already analyzing the rest of the information received - This is the third call of help we receive in two days –Tells Aviva to the rest of the crew - First in Canada disappears bears, wolves and moose, then in India tigers, rhinoceroses and elephants disappear - Martin counts on the monitors the sites from where the alerts were received - Where should we go first? - Jimmy asks from the cabin of the ship ready to start the engines.

\- I will tell you where to go first Kratt team - Zach Varmitech's voice is heard by the Tortuga sound system, followed by his image on all the monitors at the same time - How about if you address these coordinates - And the coordinates that one of his zachbots has sent appear on one of the monitors - Once there, my zachbots will be waiting to take you to where all the animals are, as I have them. For now they are part of my new collection of wild animals that will soon decorate the walls of my room if you do not come as soon as you can, but; only the two of you Kratt brothers - Addressing the brothers who are at the front of the team and look at him with suspicion as Zach continues with the instructions - Well if I detect the presence of any of you three dumb minions I will eliminate all the animals at once ... And maybe afterwards I'll look for more of them, just to piss you off. And another thing, no communicators, tracking devices, vehicles or anything like that, only your power suits with your collection of animal discs. Do not make me wait for Wild Rats, if you don't want to see the blood of those animals running down the floor - As suddenly as it appeared, Zach Varmitec cuts the transmission leaving the team totally full of uncertainty and with more questions than answers.

\- What the hell is wrong with him? - Exclaims with disbelief the elder Kratt - How it has arrived at this? Usually Zach has only dedicated to minor misdeeds and to involve the animals to improve his machinery, he has never really hurt any creature, Ahora sí se pasó!- Aviva says incredulous before the situation – Because we've never allowed it- Interrupts Chris with clear anger on the villain - We have never allowed him to hurt any creature because we have always stopped him and released the animals before completing his plans, but now; I don't know, There is something strange about him that I can't get. Did you see his face? He seemed totally pleased when he meant to harm those animals, I don't know ... Have he finally gone mad after so many years just surrounded by machines?

\- Well either Zach has finally gone crazy or just climbed on his evil scale, I don't like this at all, you can't follow his game, it's obvious that something very bad is brought to you brothers, and as hard as it hurts to admit it, you shouldn't go, who knows what the hell is going through his head? What could he be planning to do to you? Please guys, do not follow that lunatic's game - Koki warns them with a serious expression and obvious anger mixed with great frustration.

\- Guys, I… think, I think Koki is right - Jimmy's tenuous voice is heard from the back of the room - Zach Varmitech is crazy, he has always been a rock in the shoe for us for a long time ... B- but he had never scared me like he did today. Who knows what he's up to? Please guys, don't go!

\- But, but damn it! We don't have a choice - Martin points out while he punches the computer board with his fist –We can't stand idle while he mistreats these animals- We don't know if he really can do it - Asks the young inventor - We know that Zach has lied to us many times on other occasions and we also know that he is a coward and a liar, he surely wants you guys away to be able to steal our technology, as he has tried other times – But then he would force everyone to go there and leave the ship alone - Jimmy says in a tone of doubt and fear - Or to deliver it even directly into his hands, why did not he asks for that too?

\- Because he's finally gone mad - Koki repeats.

\- We have no choice - Chris says looking at his brother who shares the same expression of his face - We have already been able to deal with Varmitech'scrazy ideas so many times before, this time doesn't have to be different, and if he really is now a villain, then we'll have to take drastic measures, we can't let him to harm those animals just to get to us.

\- We know that you care about us and we also care about you, you should activate the Tortuga security system as soon as we leave the ship - Martin instructs Aviva.

\- If that is what you two guys have decided ... Then I think we have no choice but to support you – Aviva responds, who approaches the brothers and takes the hand of each of them - I fully understand what your work means to you and if you are willing to risk it, then better be prepared - Aviva says with determination to the brothers - I have been working on a new version of the CPS, I was keeping the surprise for the day we would celebrate the anniversary of the team foundation, but I think it will be better to use it now.

\- What? No, we can't let them go, what if ... how about ... that, that crazy - Chris puts his hand on Koki's shoulder and with a glance makes her understand the meaning of being a Kratt - We know it is risky, we know that anything could go wrong at any moment, but we also know that this is the responsibility we have accepted since we started to rescue animals, it has not always been easy, surely now it will not be either, but we can't give up without trying, because I'm sure we could never forgive ourselves.

Koki turns her face towards the monitors, removes Chris's hand from her shoulder with the movement of an arm and stands with obvious anger - Koki ... - Martin barely reaches to say her name when he is abruptly silenced by the expression in the face of his friend.

\- Does not matter, does it? Nothing of what we say Jimmy or me, right? - Of course it matters Koki, don't say that - Martin responds as he runs a hand through his hair trying to find the right words to explain the situation to his friend.

\- I know that you will go anyway, I know that you will confront anyway whatever that insane has prepared you. And I ask only one thing... Come back with us. No matter how, no matter what you have to do or what decisions to make, you must only promise that you will return, both of you.

\- Yes please, promise guys, - Jimmy says as he clasps his hands and interlacing his fingers - Promise that you will come back with us.


	3. Captives

The Tortuga goes to the coordinates that Varmitech gives them, it is an area in the middle of one of the most distant beaches of Florida, where a group of zachbots is already waiting for them. One of the machines has a monitor, in which the pleased face of Varmitech appears.

\- Welcome Kratt brothers - He greets them with a malevolent expression - From now on, my metallic servants will accompany you to your destination, please leave any piece of unsolicited technology and deliver what I requested to my little zachbots - He says smiling at the angry expression of both brothers.

Martin starts the discussion with the image of Zach on the screen - I don't know what you are really plotting Zach, but whatever it is ... - Yes, yes, yes, - Varmitech makes him silent in an instant with a tone of boredom –I'm tired of hearing that over and over again every time we meet, please, _JustObey!,_ before you really make me angry and decide to advance an order of exotic meat for Gurmond or skins for the Donita catwalk.

\- I can't wait to be in front of you Zach, I really have many things to tell you - Chris warns him while a zachbot strips him of his CPS and another one takes the requested power discs.

Once the suits and disks of both brothers are in possession of the machines, the two of them are taken to a small helicopter guided by remote control that moves away of the coast followed by the roboticservants that quickly are lost in the sky.

Koki tries to trace the signal of the suits to determine its direction, the moment that its monitor unfolds Varmitech's face - Ah, ah, ah, I told you that without tricks, you little nosy rats - Soon, a computer virus is infiltrated in the Tortuga system momentarily destabilizing the readings in the monitors and inhibiting the actions of the main computer, Aviva manages in a short time to reestablish the normal operation of the ship and the computers, but they have lost all the siblings' trail and the helicopter is so small that it doesn't even appear on the radar to be tracked in addition to being protected with an electronic camouflage system so as not to be detected by satellites.

Eventually they can see in the distance an old careless freighter, carrying a lot of containers and seeming to be about to sink for the time it has been in the ocean. The helicopter is positioned above it and as it descends, the appearance of the ship changes. A hologram disguises a boat that looks completely different. Instead of the old rusty exterior appears a gleaming and modern ship in black with the unmistakable initials ZV on one side. The small aircraft descends on the deck and is immediately surrounded by the robots, the brothers leave the ship and are subdued by four of the zachbots that hold them firmly by the arms despite the brothers' struggle to free themselves - Stop your toys Zach, Where are we supposed to go? - Martin says to the evil inventor without bothering to hide his anger - _Nah_ , That's the way I like you both.

\- By the way, Welcome to my new hideaway. What did you think of the camouflage system? Cool isn't it? - Varmitech shows his inventions making sure to give the brothers a welcome that makes them begin to forget the meaning of the word hope - With this, I will prevent your friends from bothering us, even if they look by air they will never find this boat, because my defense systems display false signals to make it look just like another boat that travels along these routes. And believe me, the sooner you two become accustomed to obeying rather than causing me trouble, it will be better for you - Now zachbots take them to the presidential suites that I have so carefully prepared for them –By saying that, the zachbots are just looking at each other - To the disgusting cells of the last cargo compartment you idiots! - Their master shouts to them with an evident tone of boredom and arrogance.

Then, the puppets take the brothers under the deck of the ship and after traveling a long corridor, finally reach a tiny pair of cells in which each of them are thrown. The depressing cells barely have space to take a few steps inside, a simple hanging bed and enough to cover the most basic needs, the place is only lit by a dim light that, to give the final touch of horror film; buzzes and flashes from time to time - If Zach doesn't kill us with his madness, this site will do it, it's depressing bro! - Martin expresses with uncertainty to his brother who is lodged in the cell in front of his from where they can at least look directly at speaking, but are too separated to allow any kind of contact - What the hell will Zach want with us so he has decided to kidnap all those animals and behave like this? This is veeery low, even for him - Martin comments while Chris looks closely at the cell in search of anything that might be of help, a loose screw, the mechanism of the door lock, the resistance of the grating, the thickness of the walls, the little surveillance camera inside the cell and another in the hall, anything ... Nothing, there is nothing that can give them any hints of anything. Nothing more than that they are trapped in a miserable and depressing cell in hands of a madman.

\- I don't know bro, but surely soon we will discover, and I'm afraid it will not be nice, coming from him we can't expect anything else –Finally, Chris responds with an expression of indignation standing in the middle of the cell, he just steps back and sits down on the hard bed waiting for what follows with his arms folded over his chest as he begins to analyze the range of possibilities his enemy could most likely prepare for them.

\- I wonder what Zach will be doing with the CPS - Martin comments - Although he always wanted to steal the inventions of Aviva. Why he only demanded the suits, why did not he ask for something else? Besides, where will he have the animals? Do you think he has them in this same boat, and where does he lead them?- Martin asked nervously moving his arms in the air and bringing his hands up to his head trying to figure out what to do or what to expect.

\- I don't know bro, but I just hope that Zach focuses on us and not in the rest of the team at Tortuga, I hope they're well - Chris says those last words quietly, closing his eyes in prayer for the welfare of their friends.

Time passes slowly inside the cells where the brothers simply wait, and wait, and wait ... Nothing, nothing at all. Is it a psychological game that Varmitech has initiated to break the spirit of the brothers? Is he so busy unraveling the secrets of Aviva's technology and simply he has forgotten to visit his new guests? Or has he simply planned to let them die in oblivion by being a coward to eliminate them himself?

Inside the cell, Martin yells at the camera and makes motions with his hands trying to get Zach's attention, looking for some clue - It's useless bro, don't waste your energy, that clown will appear when he wants, don't give him the pleasure of seeing you as he wishes –Chris tells his brother with a calm tone in his voice, because Martin is already quite nervous about being locked in there and by the uncertainty that assaults him - Yeah, Chris, you're right, it's just, Oh, damn it! It's just that… Man, it sucks to be here without doing anything! Who knows how long we have been here! With a sigh, Martin finally calms down and lies down on the floor, trying to stay calmly staring at the ceiling of the cell.


	4. With No Choice

In his laboratory, Varmitech is giving the last touches to one of his infamous artifacts in which he has been immersed several hours, checking the operation of the last circuit, to ensure that he will get the expected result - With this, those two hateful brothers will finally know who I am, finally they will know what I am capable of and they will not be able to do anything to avoid it. Nothing! - He lets out a sinister laugh as he watches his work with pride - I can't wait any longer, for now this will be enough, then I will modify their suits at my convenience, but for now, I think it is time to visit my new guests, that they must already believe that I have forgotten them.

He calls his zachbots and speaks for himself - The fall of those two will be something really fascinating to observe, they have no idea what awaits them, and I can't wait to be the first to witness it, it will really be splendorous, magnificent, impressive worthy of me Zach Varmitech, world renown, mega genius robotics inventor - " _Loser_ " - Echoes the word in his unconscious - Never more! Never more! - He says to himself with a face of total abhorrence. Zachbots! Bring the suits and the rest of the equipment – He orders his machines and is headed towards where the brothers are waiting for what has prepared them the increasingly unbalanced inventor

\- Hello my dear Kratt brothers, I hope you are enjoying your stay - Varmitech greets his captives with a cheerful tone that is quickly replaced by one more in keeping with his current being - Nah, not true. I really hope you rot in those cells! But that would definitely be soooo boring to watch and then as I don't have so much patience for that.

\- Zach! - Chris addresses in a defiant tone to the dark figure in front of them - What the hell are you up to? What do you want those animals for and what the hell has happened to you? You look more miserable and insane than usual.

\- And what will you do with us? - Martin raises him with a furious expression while he constricts with his fists the bars of the cell that at that moment well wishes they were Varmitech's neck - You know well that you can't keep us here forever.

\- Yeah, yeah, yeah, blah, blah, blah ... - Repeatedly pronounce the little man while he makes with his hand the gesture of speaking - Zachbots! Hold them - With that said, the cells open and the robotic servants enter to imprison both brothers at once, and drag them to the ground in front of the manic inventor who stands arm crossed, and with a gesture towards the ground; forces the brothers to fall on their knees in front of him.

\- You better not dare hurt those animals you son of a... –Oh, Shut up! - With a fierce cry and a slap, Varmitech silences the youngest of the brothers, who momentarily remains undaunted by the simple and crude demonstration of power of his enemy, who has never resorted to such threats in the past.

\- Hey you damn! ... Martin rushes over the assailant, but is immediately returned to the ground by his metal captors, who hold his arms even more tightly, almost making him lose the feeling in his hands.

\- Enough! - He says in a dry voice and a dark face – Soon, you will both know why I want those beasts that you love so much, in fact I am about to take you with them, but first, you must put on your suits – At the end of the sentence, the zachbots pull the arms of the brothers and dress them with their CPS, restraining them again immediately, while Varmitech positions himself behind his hostages and takes in his hands his latest invention, a black metal collar that places on each of them, after which they are activated with a small electronic key, despite the protests and struggles of the brothers as it is impossible to get rid of the grip of the zachbots.

\- What the hell are you thinking you moron? - Chris directs a furious glance while continuing to try to break free of the robots' metallic hands - Take these damn things from us, you lunatic! - Martin demands it with equal fury - You are crazy if you really think that we are going to continue your game, whatever it is! You will not control us with your inventions as you always do with the animals you steal from... - In just an instant, a sharp pain and a feeling of suffocation swiftly invaded the brothers, causing them to fall to the ground, in violent convulsions caused by a flow of electricity that traveled to the last fiber of their beings. In only a few seconds, they were immediately left out of combat and then held by the zachbots who made them kneel in front of their captor again while they tried to re-establish their breathing and focus their sight again.

\- Well my dear prisoners, as you will have noticed, from now on you are not in a position to demand anything, to deny anything, to avoid anything or to do anything that I don't command to you. Is that clear? Hah? I don't hear you pair of rats, that wasn't enough? Well, let's see if we can now - With a great sadism, Varmitech simply applies another shock to the brothers who suffer for the second time the agony of the infamous inventor's technology.

Still on the ground, the brothers listen to Varmitech continue to speak without understanding a single word due to the buzzing in their ears but they can see that a small artifact resembling an usb memory card falls to the ground and is crushed by the foot of the figure in front to them.

\- That which you have just seen - Varmitech informs the brothers, who gradually catch their breath after receiving the second shock - It was the only thing with which they can, or rather could be those collars deactivated, and I just destroyed it. So, you little treehuggers from now on… _You Belong To Me!_ – He acclaims upon his victims with a fatal grimace and a completely abominable look, taking both brothers by the artifact in their necks and threatening them with great pleasure-You better behave well if you don't want to suffer the consequences. Oh, Almost forgot!, the electric shocks you just received are at the lowest level of power - While shaking his fists holding fiercely the collars utter another threat - Make me angry, _really ... Angry_ , and I can simply kill you pressing a button on a remote control. Now, are we understanding?

The brothers remain silent as they recover from the shocks, completely against their will they have no choice but to accept the orders of their captor – What…do you want from us, Zach? - Chris is directed to the sinister little man who delights in his triumph, being released by the zachbots and pushed forward, the same is repeated with his older brother - Follow me - Varmitech orders by turning and leaving the room - The zachbots push the prisoners filing them in the direction of their master.

After a few minutes of travel, they finally arrive at a large empty cargo compartment - Zach, its empty here! - Martin makes him notice just barely holding his fury - You said you would take us to where the animals are. What are you playing? You had better not hurt them.

\- Don't worry blue boy, the animals are well and healthy, under my control of course, but well and healthy - Informs to the brothers as he continues walking towards one of the exits of the enclosure as the zachbots surround the brothers and make them stay in the center of that place. Once Varmitech has come out and reappears in a window at the top of the cargo compartment the robots raise and exit through a sluice on the roof leaving the brothers alone in the middle of the room.

\- Welcome, Kratt brothers, to the Ring of the Wild Beasts! - Varmitech announces with great complacency through the loudspeakers - You are here to demonstrate your combat skills against some of the most wild and ruthless beasts. What do you think, you´re not excited? Because I do, and I can't wait to see you fight with your beloved animals.

\- Are you completely nuts Varmitech? You know we'll never do something like that, even with your threats! - The brothers immediately show their discontent and fiercely defend their ideals even under the threat of being tortured by the artifacts they now carry.

\- Stop whining already you useless rats, if you don't want to visit the ground again! - He warns the brothers with a shout showing in his hand the collars' remote control ready to give them another shock - Of course I already expected this from you, and for that, there is a little surprise in those beautiful collars that you're wearing. And guess what? They are not only to prevent you from tantrums they also serve so that in case you refuse to participate in the fights you will receive neither more nor less than ... This! - As Varmitech points the remote control towards the brothers, who are only preparing to receive another shock, they simply receive a slight puncture in the side of their neck that hardly causes them slight discomfort.

\- What was that, Zach? How soon did your new toys break down? - Chris asks in a sarcastic tone - Yes Zach, didn't change the batteries to your remote? - Martin continues with the claim initiated by his brother.

\- Varmitech has fun ignoring the mockery of the brothers as he passes between his hands the power discs he stole and choose two of them - These are perfect! - He says to himself and hands them to one of his zachbots - Give it to them - He simply orders his creation which goes to the center of the ring through the hatch in the ceiling and drops near them the discs inside a box which contains hair of the animal whose powers are coded.

\- Activate your suits - Varmitech warns them with an expression of pride - Because if you don't want to die, you better defend yourselves.


	5. Fight or Die

With amazement and growing nervousness, the brothers hear the powerful roar of an enormous beast that strikes and attacks the walls on the other side of one of the doors. Chris takes the box containing the discs from the floor and looks with disbelief at what they have been assigned and addressing his brother, gives him one of the discs.

\- Martin, these are lion powers discs- The elder brother extends his hand to take the disc, but a sudden feeling of anguish assaults his being and causes him tremors in his arms and legs that make him throw the device before he can even hold it - Chris - He says with anguish – I'm afraid, I ... I'm short of air, I can't ... breathe. What is happening to me? ... The light of the place ... It's too intense, it doesn't let me see, Chris, I can't see Chris what the hell is going on? What is behind that door? What will we do?

\- Chris is suddenly impatient with his brother's sudden display of weakness and takes him by the flap giving him a jolt that forces him to focus again - Martin! Martin! Control yourself! Calm down now! We can't be distracted, we can't fall into the game of this jerk so easily - With obvious anger, Chris looks at Varmitech who keeps a close eye on the behavior of his captives.

\- At last, it's finally starting to make some effect! - Says the inventor to himself aloud - And ring the bell!

Introducing some commands on his tablet, Varmitech opens a gate in the ring to release a huge African Buffalo, one of the savanna's most dangerous animals due to its large size, strength and aggressiveness. The huge beast carries one of the control devices that Varmitech commonly uses to force the animals to obey him and to top it all off, the poor animal has been harassed with electric spikes to exacerbate his aggressiveness and force him to attack.

\- I'm telling you. You better activate your suits, if you don't want to be crushed by that beast, you'd better obey me, you know what I'll do to you if you don't - The villain orders from his throne to the brothers who are in the middle of a crossroads trying to decide what to do. How much will they be able to withstand? How can they deal with it, without hurting it and without being killed? Normally Chris is the one who manages to devise a plan to get out of the complicated situations, but now, right now, he is not able to clear his mind, to organize his ideas, he is not even able to stop trembling while trying to insert the disc in his suit.

\- We can't give this jerk the joy of fighting any animal Martin, we can't allow ... We can't ... No ... Damn! Why can't I concentrate? With fear, anger and anguish Chris finally decides to activate the lion's powers in his suit to lure the buffalo away from his brother who is still trying to stand up for the disc he dropped.

The enormous buffalo receives the order from the computer of the insane man in command. _Attack_. Already enraged, the disturbed beast obeys and charges against the only two figures in front of him. A green flash marks the transformation of Chris into the Africa's largest cat, capable of facing a beast of such magnitude. Without thinking twice, he leaps against the buffalo and distracts him by hanging from one of his horns to divert him from his path and away from his brother who watches with fear as the huge beast casts his brother easily against a wall. Chris rises again and takes the buffalo's tail to resume his attention, the beast turns and pursues him, he makes a series of jumps and movements that barely allow him to dodge the huge horns, which constantly threaten to pierce him. Martin watches still shakily as his brother confronts the beast, who seems to be the size of a bus looking to ram a fly buzzing in the air. Finally, he manages to coordinate his movements enough to take the power disk and try to activate it to help his brother when in one fell swoop, Chris is thrown through the air and falls heavily near him, letting out a loud groan and causing him to spit some blood.

The mere glimpse of his brother's blood on the ground was enough to make Martin completely change his state of mind. With a completely different expression on his face, activates the power disc and at the same time that the transformation is complete it starts at full speed towards the enraged buffalo producing a powerful roar that causes the animal to focus on him and leave Chris. Martin takes out his claws and sets out to attack the huge beast by jumping on his back, trying to stay on top of it while the furious beast jumps and tries to hit him with his horns.

Chris takes a couple of minutes to recover from the blow to join his brother who repeatedly tries to twist the buffalo's head to make him fall, but the beast's neck is too strong, Martin can't turn his head, only ends up receiving pushing and jolting. Chris looks at this, but just as he is about to leap over the buffalo, he is thrown down by the body of his brother who is thrown hard at him. Both contenders fall heavily to the ground, Martin immediately gets up and returns to the fight. Yes, he goes to fight against the buffalo, this time not only tries to distract him or make him away from his brother, he throws himself against the beast with his claws in front ready to give a blow on his head that manages to cause a deep wound in the nose of the animal that lets out small threads of blood that spatter his attacker every time he tried to ram or hit him with his horns.

The smell of blood caused in Martin a completely unexpected effect, Chris watches his behavior more and more confused, the expression on Martin's face looked like that of a real predator looking to knock down a prey, the previous fear and confusion had completely disappeared, in its place, there was only the frenzy of blows that Martin gave to the increasingly rabid animal.

\- S-Stop, this is not ... Martin is enough, that's enough! - The Kratt in green shouted desperately at his brother, who seemed not to hear at all his voice because he was completely focused on the fight.

From his position above, fascinated, Varmitech witnessed the events that unfolded in front of him, ecstatic seeing how his plan is fulfilled to perfection, one of the brothers turned into a brute and the other watching him without being able to avoid it, it was like a dream made reality, a feverish and unhinged dream of a twisted and vengeful mind.

\- Come on green guy, don't just stand there! Don't be useless damn idiot! - Varmitech shouts through the loudspeakers – You better help your brother if you don't want me to shock him right now, and that would definitely be very bad for him - Chris watches undecided, fears for his brother's life, fears for his own life, feels pity for the buffalo being manipulated, he feels a grudge against Varmitech, he is invested with the desire to use his powers against him, to see his blood run, to sink his claws into his flesh. In just a second, he remembers the promise they made to their friends, back in Tortuga, no matter what and no matter how, they must return, they must survive, they must fight ... Until he no longer resists and finally surrenders to the same aggressive frenzy that assaults his brother's mind.

With rage and pain Chris launches into the attack the moment he utters a cry of fury and frustration calling within himself to all his forces asking himself to be strong enough to do whatever is necessary, allowing him not to give up , whatever it is to end this madness, whatever it is to survive. With this new thought in his mind, Chris throws himself to the buffalo's neck, roaring and tearing his thick skin, inflicting wounds that make him lose more and more blood. Soon, the floor of the ring becomes a canvas full of twisted crimson strokes that seem to have been painted by the same insane being watching the events in front of him completely euphoric.

\- Yes! Yes! This is how it should be! That's a good fucking show! Varmitech shouts from the cabin, waving his arms in the air, barely sitting on the edge of his seat, completely elated by the success of his twisted actions amid laughter and a very satisfied expression.

With its own blood on the floor, the buffalo can't keep his hooves firmly on the ship's metal surface and he slides to his knees on his front legs receiving inclement attacks from both brothers at once. While Martin repeatedly tries to turn the head of the buffalo to knock him down, leaving his neck fully exposed, Chris continues to strike until the poor animal's throat is nothing more than a macabre set of skin, veins and cartilage torn. Finally, the huge beast stops struggling until it simply stands still on the bloody ground while the two brothers try to stabilize their breath with great puffs of air at the effort made, trembling uncontrollably by the outburst of violence of the battle and the action of the adrenaline that floods their bodies, but above all; by the poisoning caused by a small dose of drugs that were injected through the collar before the fight to exacerbate their aggressive behavior and induce hallucinations that encouraged them to give a good show for the only member of their audience.

From his position, Varmitech is standing applauding and gloating with his triumph, with his arms raised, jumps and applauds totally amazed by the spectacle he has just witnessed – This gentlemen, it's definitely something that will go down in history! – He shouts to the miserable and confused figures that are in the ring through the loudspeakers, amid euphoric laughter - Yes, finally, finally! Do you realize what I am capable of? Do you realize what happens when Zach Varmitech orders something? Is fulfilled! You have no choice! And so it will be from now on, because this ... This does not stay here! This magnificent show will be witnessed by thousands of spectators who will pay large sums of money for quality entertainment and you will be the main attraction of course, because you have no choice! Varmitech lets out a laugh that faithfully reflects his maddened soul. Meanwhile, one of the brothers looks at him with utter contempt and rage, still eager to try blood.

Varmitech basks in his triumph as Martin throws himself with all his strength towards him, digging his claws into the metal of the wall trying to reach his captor, but only a few feet from him receives a powerful shock that immediately causes him to fall to the floor and give a heartbreaking cry of pain that takes Chris out of his trance and makes him back a few steps as he watches his brother receive the cruel punishment until he is unconscious on the floor. At the same time, a group of zachbots enter the room while two of them deactivate Martin's suit, lift him off the ground and take him away. Chris tries to follow them but is prevented by the machines and the instability in his legs as a result of the drug in his body that already begins to lose effect.

\- You're a fucking bastard Zach! - He shouts angrily at the smiling inventor trying to free himself from the machines - Where are you taking my brother, you psycho? Is not enough with what you have done? - Of course not! - He responds sarcastically with a smile to his afflicted captive.

\- Don't be a crybaby anymore! My servants only took him to his cell so he can sleep comfortably and recover from the hangover of the drugs that those collars administered to you two and that surely you are already beginning to feel at this moment, isn't it? Don't worry, it's just a short-acting cocktail of psychotropic agents and other things to encourage you to fight, you know, to make the encounters more interesting - Explains Varmitech as if it were the most normal in the world - And worked great! You really surprised me. It was awesome how you threw yourself at that beast! Roaring and struggling, you really looked like a real hungry lion - A maniacal laugh frames that last sentence that makes Chris boil his blood - You're going to pay for this Varmitech! I will make you suffer a thousand times what you have done to us! I'll force you to... – And another shock. Although short, equally effective.

\- Oops! I slipped my finger - Cynically, the lunatic says to Chris, who can barely resist the impact that makes him fall on his knees and support his hands on the floor - As an additional measure and to avoid outbursts like the one made by your stupid brother, the collars are programmed to incapacitate you with a greater shock if you approach less than 15 feet of me in your beast form, so it is better for you to surrender and avoid more unnecessary suffering, although I must admit that it is really funny to see you resist unnecessarily - Express with great morbid - Now, deactivate your suit and take it off - Varmitech orders Chris who has no choice but to obey - Zachbots! Take him to his cell and clear this mess, it's disgusting –With an order from his master, the robots drag Chris back to his confinement, completely without resistance, simply wanting to check his brother's health, praying that he is well and desperately wishing this nightmare ends as soon as possible.

Chris is thrown into his cell, falling in all fours, unable to even try to get up for a few minutes, until finally, he turns around and manages to glimpse with blurred vision his brother who is still unconscious in the front cell. - Martin? Martin, are you okay? Martin, wake up bro, Martin! - There is no answer, he remains unconscious. At least he can now enjoy a moment of tranquility while Chris just watches him, waiting for him to regain consciousness and while simply lying on the floor, waiting for the side effects of drugs to disappear that make him want to be unconscious as well.


	6. The Worst is Yet to Come

Inside Varmitech´s ship, the brothers are still shocked by the events that happened only a few hours ago, they could never have suspected what awaited them. Not even in their wildest hallucinations would they have ever imagined that they would have to kill an animal with their own hands to survive, for the sole purpose of entertaining a maniac.

Chris still feels chills running through his body, remembering his raging brother in search of blood, still moans for his own brutal behavior against an innocent animal that was, like them; manipulated by a psychopath. Anger, frustration and pain, blend into Chris's mind as he watches the bloodstains still on his brother's face that make him feel nauseous.

Almost nothing has been said since Martin regained consciousness without clear recollections of what had happened, only blurred and confused visions, combined with countless emotions, for under the effects of the substances supplied to them. They could do no more than what their altered survival instinct dictated to them.

\- It wasn't our fault. It wasn't our intention. We would never have been able to do something like that, except for the crap that Zach injected us, right? - Chris questions his brother who still feels the pain in his arms for the effort to hold the huge animal.

\- You know perfectly that we had no choice Chris, we were forced, we couldn't avoid it, there was simply no option... Damn! _WHAT ELSE COULD WE DO_? - Martin shouts in frustration to his brother visibly dejected - We can't surrender, you know very well that we can't, if we do, Varmitech will have free passage for... Who knows what other damn aberrations come to mind, if it's against us now, maybe later against Aviva, Jimmy or Koki, we can't let him beat us, we promised them. We know that in nature, animals are born to face this type of struggle on a daily basis, and many of them do not survive. It will not be different here bro.

\- We must find a way out of here, maybe there is some way to achieve it if Zach fails to discover the modifications of the suits, we must destroy the collars remote control, only then we will have some opportunity to escape - Finally Chris gets his ideas clarified and concentrate on the details - As long as we don't get within 15 feet from Zach, the collars will not activate - Unless he activates them - Martin interrupts - Yes, that is a small detail, bro, anyway, we must do it as soon as possible, because you heard what he said, he will turn us into his circus freaks for a lot of unscrupulous billionaires like him, and if that continues, who knows what levels could reach. Surely the team is already looking for us and I hope they will not surrender until they find us, wherever we are - With a hint of hope Chris finally accepts Martin's words "Fight" "Survive", cruel words that are a natural part of their beloved animals, and for animals and for themselves, they'd better act soon.

Suddenly, Varmitech's shrill voice resonates through the boat's loudspeakers - Good news wild rats! - Communicates to the brothers displaying an unpleasant sense of sarcasm – In view of the success obtained with your first fight, I have managed to get a much larger audience for you, my beloved fighting dogs, tomorrow night, you will face again in the ring with... Well, I don't yet decide which of these vermin I will use, but I assure you that it will be the best show that has appeared, and who knows, maybe it will be a weekly event or something, so rest well and don't waste your energy trying some stupidity, because you know the consequences of making me angry - Immediately, Varmitech gives a shock to the brothers, for the simple pleasure of seeing them squirm once more through his monitors - As soon as the brothers could catch their breath, with a surprising coordination of thoughts, they both turned to the small camera of their respective cells, uttering in unison a simple phrase - _FUCK YOU VARMITECH!_

Silence is present for several hours; too much in fact, for the taste of the captives, allowing them at least to rest and replenish their strength with the tasteless food provided by the zachbots. Without much to do inside the cells, the brothers are simply waiting for what comes.

On the other hand, in his laboratory, still with a remarkable expression of pleasure after his sadistic spectacle and having given the kiss of good night to his hostages, Varmitech prepares to analyze the operation of the suits, and connects his machines to Martin's CPS - Let's start with the blue boy's costume, see what's special about it - He speaks to himself as he gazes at his computer monitor that is already running a scanning program.

Varmitech is absorbed in analyzing the functioning of the CPS - I can't believe Aviva that your designs are so simple, so mediocre - " _But that even so, they prove to be superior to yours Zach_ " - An impertinent voice resonates in the inventor's mind - Damn witch, but that's over, no more humiliation for me, no more triumph for any of you miserable ... - He continued to check the mechanism of the suit and proceeded to analyze the information contained in it - Come on, come on useless machine - He craves the computer as he skillfully presses the keyboard buttons and enters a series of commands to decipher the security codes - Damn! Just like I thought, it has an encrypted program, it's pretty good I must admit; but not enough - He tells himself in total disregard for his rival's work.

\- " _She always succeeds in overcoming you_ " –Not this time! Not this time! - He hears in his mind a voice that reminds him of the past, a voice he is willing to silence once and for all and show it what he is capable of – Yes! This is how it must be! Your program fell Aviva, now let's see what's here, let me see what secrets you hide in your programming, give me everything that your creator put in you, although surely should not give much; But anyway it will serve to entertain me for a while - His triumph quickly turns to rage when realizing that the obtained information is only data and complementary programs that, by itself; they do not lead to anything - Well, Aviva; Since it seems that you were able to put a little effort on your toys, I will have to wait a little longer to destroy your security programs - Making use of his best computer programs, Varmitech leaves work to his machines, while he withdraws with an expression of discontent, muttering insults against his technological rival and trusting that his computers will inform him when the work is done.

The thin figure takes a last look at his new pets through the monitors to make sure everything is OK, he orders his zachbots to keep them under surveillance and continue to produce their control devices for the animals that will be used in the fights. He goes to the small helicopter where the brothers arrive and prepares to retire to his base on the mainland to continue the arrangements for the upcoming spectacle.


	7. A Sign of Hope

More than 24 hours have passed since the brothers were kidnapped by the insane inventor, Tortuga's crew has tried by all means to track any clue that could lead them to their location, search for Varmitech machinery in other sites, ships activity in the sky near the position where they lost sight of the aircraft that took them, satellite images, even tracking programs on multiple communications networks looking for conversations that could remotely give a hint of them trying to communicate or Varmitech plotting something.

\- It is not possible that we can't get anything Aviva, It's as if the earth had swallowed them! - Exclaims with frustration Koki from her monitoring station – I have reviewed this area over and over and I can't find anything that is remotely close to the vehicles Zach normally uses, they could be anywhere, in the sky, at sea or under the ground.

\- Tortuga radars don't detect anything in the ocean, only commercial vessels with records that I have checked several times are authentic - Informs Jimmy with great disappointment from his control panel - Oh Guys, where are you?

We can't give up, Martin and Chris count on us, no matter how many times we must search the same site or how many more we have to explore, we will find them, sooner or later, Zach will make a mistake and then we will find out, he can't hide forever - Aviva answers with determination through the monitors while working in her laboratory - If necessary, we ourselves will go for them, we can't leave them alone.

When the brothers decided to accept Zach Varmitech's "invitation", Aviva let them know about the work she had been doing in secret to improve the suits and avoid in the future possible thefts of technology by his enemy, who many times had tried without success.

\- Flashback -

\- We need to be one step ahead of Zach and the problems that constantly cause - Aviva comments to the rest of the team who watches with curiosity the result of her work - Team, I present to you the new version of the Creature Power Suits 2.0 - The young inventor unfolds a rectangular container on the workbench of her laboratory containing the five pieces designed with a different color for each member of the team, and continues to explain.

\- I have been able to compress and store all the information contained in the power discs that I have created in these years, in an internal memory that will allow to use the suit without having to exchange discs, simply obtaining a DNA sample of the animal in which you want to transform - Reveals with pride Aviva by displaying the diagram of the new function on the computer - But, it also maintains the old function of using disks, just in case.

\- Sometimes it has been necessary to defend yourselves against some furious animals or to leave complicated places or situations, so for that I installed three preprogrammed functions of imitation of animal powers, gliding, swimming and running, although they do not match the abilities of the animals, they definitely exceed the abilities that you could achieve without activating the suit, in case you are in trouble but you don't have access to a source of DNA - Next she describes the activation mode - This function is only executed through a command that the user can activate with a voice recognition program.

\- And to finish I've been working on this for some time, but I never really considered it a real need, I must admit that I never believed that Zach would finally devise something so bad and that he could actually take over my inventions, well; now we know that it is capable, I just underestimated it - Confesses the young woman with some shame continuing their explanation – This is a double-functioning system, because in case Zach managed to steal the suits one day, he would probably try to decrypt his software to apply it on his machines or something, so I installed a ghost program that when invaded, immediately makes the invader believe that it is giving it access to the contained information, but it really only causes it to wander around less important parts while releasing a virus which will potentially damage its hard drive and send out a hidden tracking signal, which will give us sufficient time to tracking its location through the suit's GPS, although a deep and detained inspection would surely be able to discover the deception, it would take at least three to four days to decrypt the access code even with the best decoding programs.

\- Present time -

Suddenly, a signal appears on the Tortuga monitors - Hey! I just received a signal from one of the CPS, it's Martin's - With a twist of her heart the engineer calls her friends - Surely Zach is trying to hack the software of the suits and activated the location signal - Aviva exclaims with excitement –Yes! That is precisely what I was waiting for that cheater to do, to be curious enough to enter into the programming of the suits and free the geographical location of his whereabouts - It's 1,500 nautical miles from here, at international waters, at cruising speed, we could arrive in about two and a half hours, Jimmy I'll send the coordinates to your board - Koki tells the young pilot who is already receiving the information and guiding the ship to its new destination.

When I lay my hands on that wretch of Zach Varmitech, he will wish he had never been born - Koki rages angrily as she tightens her fists.

\- We will have our chance to take revenge on him friends - Aviva begins to take the initiative in the course of actions to take - For now we have no idea what this liar has in mind, but we must be prepared for anything, surely he will try to use the animals as weapons, tools or shields, which is typical of him - But we must not forget that he also has those horrible robots – Jimmy exclaims - Correct, and for that I think I can make a small electromagnetic pulse generator with some of the elements of Tortuga, although it will be quite limited, maybe I can direct it to Zach's machines to disable them, using the radar wave emitter of the mini-submarine - That would be great Aviva, you have to let me control that apparatus, I will not miss a single shot! - Exclaims enthusiastically the young redhead - I don't imagine anyone better for that job Jimmy – Aviva cheers him - And if necessary, we must be ready to wear the power suits and face him directly with his machines. But for now, Koki, I need you to help me extract the wave emitter from the submarine to install it on one of the buzz bikes, but maybe, it will take us more time than that.

\- You're right, we shouldn't rush - Reflects Koki - Perhaps we must first prepare everything necessary to cover any eventuality, we could also try to infiltrate Zach's terrain using mosquito powers or something like this to get a better picture of the situation, because we don't know what kind of boat or aircraft they are in, or maybe he has them on an island, inside a submarine or whatever, we also have no idea how or where the brothers are, or under what conditions - Please girls, don't make me imagine bad things - Jimmy says with great concern.

\- I just hope that his computers don't find out the signal of the suit soon and hold his position long enough to find them, please brothers be strong, I hope they are well wherever Zach has them - With her eyes closed, Aviva sends a prayer for her friends.


	8. Inside the Wolf's Den

The time passes slowly inside the Varmitech's boat, but outside in contrast, the time runs with great speed for the crew of Tortuga. The rest of the team Kratt prepares to take action in search of their friends, they have already advanced to a point close enough to where the boat they are looking for is located. Aviva, using one of the CPS; activates dolphin powers by touching one of the creatures that have managed to attract in the middle of the ocean with sounds of vocalizations and some food. She is about to go to the specific site that indicated the sign of Martin's suit when it was invaded by Varmitech's programs.

\- Be very careful Aviva - Jimmy looks for his friend in the water - We will inform you as soon as you approach to the point of the signal - Informs Koki with a serious look - Do not risk more than necessary, we can't afford to underestimate Varmitech more than we have already done, now we know what he is capable of doing and who knows what else - Understood - the inventor responds in its dolphin form and submerges away at full speed to the indicated site.

After a while, Koki communicates to Aviva through her CP - You are only 3 miles from the site marked by the signal, you're going in a good direction you should soon be able to see something - Great, I will take a look at the surface - She responds to the moment she plunges deeper to take momentum and strides with all her strength to the surface achieving a great jump of almost 10 feet above the water - I see a boat in the distance - She communicates to the ship and repeats the jump - Yes, seems to be a freighter- Surely that's where that madman has the brothers - Exclaims Jimmy upon hearing the information given by Aviva – I'll go there, I'll use insect powers to enter the ship without being seen, and let you know as soon as I arrive.

Aviva cuts off the communication and increases her speed, in a few minutes arrives to the boat surrounding it and watching carefully any indication of danger - I'm already here guys, everything seems to be calm, but this boat does not seem to be something that Zach would use, it looks old and run down. I'm going to get in there anyway, I'll check inside, just in case there is something. - Aviva deactivates the dolphin powers and removes from her belt the miniaturizer that fixes to the hull of the boat, but at the moment she fixes the device to the metal surface, she discovers that there is a hologram hiding a different color and appearance than can be seen with the naked eye - Hey Guys, guess what I found? It seems that there is a hologram hiding the true appearance of this ship, and guess what color it is ... Black, and also gleaming. - It has to be this, that's why we could not find anything, the ship must have a complete camouflage system, and that's why we could only find signs of common cargo ships – Koki says with emotion – Underwater, Aviva activates the miniaturizer and drastically reduces her size to swim to the surface and draw a small plastic bag containing the body of a mosquito from one of the pockets on her forearm. Activating mosquito powers, Aviva flies to the deck of the ship that looks full of rusty containers, but as she gets closer, she suddenly passes through what appears to be a light barrier and appears in front of her the empty, glistening cover of a modern boat, that is guarded by a group of zachbots that mount guard distributed in different points of the boat.

\- This is the boat my friends - Reports Aviva with excitement to the crew in Tortuga I see about ten zachbots on the deck of the boat, but I don't see Zach's helicopter, or any other vehicle, most likely under the deck or something. I'm going in. I will not be able to communicate with you until I leave the ship so that the transmission is not detected, wish me luck - Be careful – Good luck friend – Her friends responds through her CP.

Aviva enters through a few ventilation slits under the deck and begins to fly through the corridors, for almost half an hour finds nothing at all, until she perceives something, large amounts of carbon dioxide coming from one of the cargo holdings. She continues to advance until she encounters at least fifty animals enclosed in cages and metal containers. - Here are lions, bears, crocodiles, elephants, elk, tigers, there is everything, they seem to be fine although some are in very small cages - Son muchos animales - Speaks for herself with sadness in her face, she can only for the moment, feel anger at their situation – I´ll continue to advance.

Aviva continues to navigate the various cargo compartments of the boat, without success, until she finds the ring that has already been cleaned by the machines and removed the lifeless body of the buffalo, without even suspecting the aberrant facts that arose there previously. She arrives at the laboratory and discovers the suits, one of them it´s being analyzed by the machines, but decides to leave them intact trusting in her own software and continues in the search of the brothers heading towards the deepest zone of load compartments which was about to go unnoticed. As she enters, she discovers the cells at the back of the room and hurries to approach, discovering with happiness the brothers asleep inside, however, she stops the moment she discovers the blood splatters that stain their clothes and the collars they both wear.

\- Guys, guys, it's me, come on wake up - Aviva tries to draw the attention of the brothers who sleep soundly without hearing her little voice. When she sees the surveillance camera inside the cells, she decides to approach Chris first, because he is with his back to the camera, to avoid being discovered talking to himself- Chris, Chris wake up, Chris It's me - Taking a great puff of air, she screams with all her strength directly in his ear, finally managing to wake him up.

\- Eh? What ... Aviva? Is that you? - Chris looks at the little figure in disbelief doubting for a moment, trying to figure out if it's another hallucination product of the drugs that were supplied previously - Chris is me, Por fin! I am so happy to see you! Are you Ok? What did Zach do to you? Why is there blood on your clothes? You're not hurt, are you? - Chris tries to contain his emotion when seeing his friend not to give in to the security camera - Aviva how you got here, how did you find us? Please tell me that Koki and Jimmy are fine - Yes, they're fine and you will see that soon, we will get you out of here. We are about 1500 nautical miles off the coast of Florida at international waters, we find you by a location sign that launched one of the suits when Zach invaded the security system that I installed on them.

Chris awakens to his brother who immediately tries to stand up for the pleasure of seeing his friend there - Shhh! Martin lie down - Chris whispers to his brother trying to go unnoticed in front of the camera - We shouldn't raise suspicions, we don't know if Zach could be watching us, we'd better look like we just talk to each other - I don't think Varmitech can hear us - Martin does the observation - Think bro, when we talk about finding a way out from here there were no threats or electric shocks from that madman - Yes, it's true; I had not thought of that – Chris reflects.

Aviva's face changes with a worried look. - Qué? Electric shocks? Did Zach put those collars for that, to hurt you? Está loco! - The diminutive inventor approaches Chris's device to take a closer look at its components – He uses them to give us electric shocks with a remote control and they also activate automatically to make us unconscious if we approach less than 15 feet of him if we have the suits activated with animal powers. And the damn already did it with me! - Martin says in anger - But that's not all - Includes Chris in a deep voice and a look of rage on his face that makes Aviva fall back - Zach plans to make us fight the animals in public shows for a lot of insane like him - Removing his face from Aviva, he confesses with great pain - And he already did ... Aviva, he forced us to fight a buffalo using lion powers. Aviva ... we ... - We killed him Aviva - Martin completes the phrase that his brother could not end because of the shame he felt.

Aviva puts her hands to her mouth, feeling as if her heart were broken when she saw the faces of pain and fury of her friends, knowing perfectly that they must have been through a great trauma to have been forced to do that. Immediately her eyes fill with tears of impotence and fury – No, it can't be! Boys, why? - Because the damn bastard is a fucking psycho! He has completely gone mad! - Martin declares, waving his left arm in the air - Tomorrow night - Chris informs her - He will make us fight in public Aviva, he will force us to kill more animals, he also controls them with his apparatuses and ... and ... as if that were not enough, the damn collars injected us with drugs to alter us and fight - What? El maldito les inyecta drogas? It can't be! I never thought that wretch was capable of something so low! Santo cielo, no puede ser! - Aviva says with great anger feeling increasing desires to use her own hands to finish with Varmitech.

\- Do you know if Zach takes that remote control with him? – Aviva asks, to which Chris responds - It seems, but we can't take these things away, that idiot destroyed the key to deactivate them - Remove them is the least - Martin says from his cell - I settle for destroying that control so that no longer can activate, but ... How do we really know if they activate when approaching Zach, or when approaching the control that Zach carries with him? - Good question bro, I guess we'll have to find out.

\- Don't worry, Jimmy and Koki are just waiting for the information I have now, we have prepared some pieces of the Tortuga equipment to eliminate the zachbots, I went through almost all this place and I didn't find any signs of Zach, it seems that he isn't here, only his robots who stand guard on the deck and some others in the interior, although who really knows how many of these things there are in this ship and what other weaponry he has. – Surely, he must have all his arsenal of hidden machines everywhere, we know he is a treacherous cheater - Martin says with suspicion - Aviva continues with her report - I also found the suits in the laboratory, is still analyzing them, but it will take a good time to even get close to the important parts for now that doesn't worry me, and finally I found the animals, are in one of the first cargo compartments and appear to be in good condition, there must be at least about fifty animals of all parts of the world, there are lions, tigers, elephants, crocodiles, bears and others, but it seems that all are in a single cellar - Well, at least now we know it has not hurt them - Express Chris with a little more encouragement.

\- Guys, I have to go - Express Aviva in pain for having to leave her friends in the hands of that madman - I must leave the boat to be able to communicate with Tortuga without being discovered, but I will return as soon as I can. Please don't give up - Aviva would like to hug her friends and stay with them longer, but she knows she can't lose a minute, she needs to get them out of there as soon as possible – We'll be fine, don't worry, at least we have until tomorrow night before that lunatic forces us to fight again - Chris encourages his friend - Be careful Aviva, don't let Zach's machines finds you - Martin continues, worried about his friend's well-being when he sees her leave.

Aviva travels the road again until she finds an exit and goes to the miniaturizer to return to normal size, she deactivates the mosquito powers and activates the preprogrammed swim function of her suit, which allows her to travel at enough speed to move several miles away from the boat while communicating with Tortuga and explains the situation to her friends. In the distance, she can see an approaching aircraft, it's a helicopter that heads towards the ship and lands on it - Guys, I think Zach just landed on his boat, we must hurry, we can't leave them there any longer, not with Zach Varmitech in there, he's crazy, he's completely crazy.


	9. Back in the Ring

On the deck of the ship, Varmitech descends from the helicopter accompanied by a man of formal bearing followed by his assistant and his bodyguards. He leads them to the inside of the deck while presenting to the subject in elegant suit, the general panorama of the proposal he brings for him. - As I said, my dear friend, what I have for you is without a doubt a quality show that will surely exceed your expectations, and as a special distinction for you, I am willing to make a special private demonstration right now, and tomorrow night, I will make a general demonstration for the rest of the guests, you'll see that you'll not be disappointed.

The man who accompanies Varmitech is a leading "entrepreneur" in the world of clandestine shows, his business is to finance and promote all kinds of events that are ostentatious enough to satisfy the deepest frustrated desires, passionate fantasies or harmful hobbies, of those people bored with everyday life thanks to the monumental amounts of money they have and that have allowed them to try everything that is usually available to ordinary people. The large sums of money he handles through bets are enough incentive to get what he wants at the moment he wants, so when he was presented with a new entertainment proposal, he was immediately asked for a demonstration because he only invested in those projects that were attractive enough for his own expectations.

Varmitech intends to reproduce the technology of power suits to produce gladiators for these shows that commonly seek to constantly scale in their intensity and style of fights, and what better opportunity than using wild beasts and modified fighters controlled by his own technology.

In the area of the cells appears a group of zachbots that go towards Chris, they open the grate and they take him by force. - Chris! - Martin shouts impotently while he can't but observe how his brother is taken to who knows what situation or place - Damn! What the hell is he planning to do with him? Please don't make him fight, don't make him fight – Thinks for himself.

Fearfully, Chris notices that he runs down the same aisle where he and his brother were formerly led into the ring, but just before crossing the gates to that place, the Zachbots stop and equip him with his CPS, Chris can no longer than to feel chills before what surely will come. Then the machines push him to the ground, causing him to fall on his knees and then appear in front of him, his captor with a serious expression and without further ado, exposes the panorama. Chris remains silent with his face full of anger.

\- You know what's next green guy. No outbursts - Emphasizing with a sneer, and taking Chris by the neck throws him a threat - _Of No Type_ , or your brother will suffer the consequences, and you obviously will receive your dose of electricity and will not be in low level. So you better give a good, and I repeat: _A good show_ \- At the end of his words, Varmitech shows Chris a grizzly bear power disc and introduces it in his suit, then extracts from his pocket the remote control that directs towards Chris' collar, who to the delight of his executioner; he involuntarily shudders to watch the device waiting for a shock, but instead he gets a prick that makes him feel panic, because he knows that his brain is being invaded by the drugs that will make him become a raging beast.

Varmitech turns around and retires with a big smile - This is going to get good.

In the middle of the ocean, Aviva finally arrives at the Tortuga - Guys, we have to act now, we have to get them out of there as soon as possible, Zach has lost his mind - With her face radiating pity and courage implores her friends - We have to help them, if you had seen them, they are suffering a lot there, that damn Zach forces them to fight with animals, he torture them, he drugs them, we have to go for them Now! - Koki and Jimmy shudder at the words of their friend, heading immediately to their respective checkpoints, Jimmy quickly raises the ship from the surface of the water and activates the camouflage mode advancing towards the boat where another one of the Varmitech's morbid shows is about to start.

Chris is finally taken to the ring by the zachbots, who retreat through the roof hatch again, leaving him in the center of the place and beginning to feel the effects of drugs. His pulse is accelerating, his hands shake, his breathing is getting more and more agitated, he begins to hear distant sounds that echo in his head, he remembers his brother roaring and pouncing against the buffalo, as if he were seeing it at that moment, still can hear the bellowing of the mighty animal, he can hear his own blood rushing through his veins and hears the beast beating on the walls. He can feel the sweat in his hands as if it were the blood he had himself run.

From the stage, where the two guys await the start of the fight, the guest casts a look of disbelief on his host. "Really, Mr. Varmitech? It's absurdly obvious that this man is not a fighter, he wouldn't last five minutes with one of my boys, he wouldn't even last five minutes with my assistant. It is clear that he is shaking with fear - Come on, come on, don't be impatient, I assure you that you will be surprised - Affirms the pale man - And with his Tablet in his hands, begins to send instructions, opening immediately the doors where the furious buffalo came out in the first encounter, now giving exit to a huge bear adorned with one of the already known control apparatuses. - Hey, green guy, activate your suit now, if you don't want my pet to tear you apart - Varmitech's words momentarily take Chris out of his stupor and make him react, watching the bear approaching him, accelerating his pace until he stops in front of him standing on two legs and throwing a powerful roar that makes Chris back just barely enough to dodge a powerful blow - Come on! - Varmitech repeats impatiently - There you have one of your precious animals. Why don't you pet him so you can activate your suit?

\- His suit? - Ask the guest - What is so special about it? - It is an artifact ... of my invention - The inventor liar answers - That allows him to change his form to that of the animal he touches, no matter the size of the subject, can equal the strength and qualities of any beast that is programmed to it, and is activated when getting a DNA sample. Don't you think it would be a bit boring if I just gave him some hair on a tray so he could use it? Let him get it himself, to make it a little more interesting. In addition, you can see that the subject wears a collar that, if not obeyed; provides electric shocks to "motivate" the desired behavior or, failing that, incapacitate it in case of rebellious behavior. And finally, that collar can supply up to five doses of nervous system stimulant drugs that provoke in the subject hallucinations to potentiate the violent behavior - Sounds interesting - The man merely responds with a disturbing expression.

Below, in the ring, Chris finally reacts to the bear's attacks and begins to move quickly by dodging the huge claws that threaten to destroy him, the adrenaline that produces his body combined with the toxic, give him a cat agility in his attempts to get close enough to the bear to be able to touch it without getting hurt in the attempt. Suddenly, the first hit is for the bear, who sends Chris to the ground, barely giving him time to get up again before a second flick fails, leaving a mark on the metal floor and allows Chris to finally play with his hand the back paw of the bear to activate the suit. With a green flash that makes the bear back a little, Chris appears with the shape of his opponent ready to face the huge animal on equal terms.


	10. To the Brothers Rescue

Inside of Tortuga, the crew is ready to face Varmitech in search for their friends, Aviva and Koki prepare to descend in the boat, carrying with them in a case in their arm a whole collection of biological samples to activate their suits. Starting with a harpy eagle feather, they launch against the zachbots on deck, followed by one of the buzz bikes that is remote-controlled by Jimmy, carrying the pulse generator to disable the zachbots, that immediately give the alarm when the girls abandon the protection of the Tortuga's camouflage mode.

Using their huge talons, they grab and tear apart some of the zachbots while Jimmy knocks the others down. "That was very easy," Koki says proudly, though the smile does not last long, seeing that from inside the deck emerge a dozen more robots - Aviva gives her a perspicacious look - Ok, Okay, I talked too soon, right? - With a strong flutter, she rises again next to her friend, ready for a second round. Aviva manages to dodge the zachbots, to reach one of the access doors of the deck of the ship, destroying the lock easily by entering one of the corridors and deactivating her suit to look for a small tuft of tiger hair and activate it again, Koki finally joins her, leaving the last zachbots to Jimmy who manages to eliminate them and introduces the buzz bike through the narrow aisles with barely enough space to maneuver in them. Outside, some weapons are deployed and start firing at Tortuga, firing a couple of shots before being accurately destroyed by Jimmy's shots.

Inside, the machines inform their creator of the situation, who by means of his tablet, watches the monitors and deploys more of his combat machines, and if that weren't enough, sends a group of wolves in an attempt to stop the advance of the invaders trying to hide the contingency from his investor - Is it all right Mr. Varmitech? - Ask the man - Oh, yes, just a little mishap, but I'm taking care of that, do not worry, you continue to enjoy the show, that the best is yet to come.

In the ring, Chris leaps against the bear, both fighters are standing, pushing each other with great force, throwing blows, roaring and trying to bite each other. The bear is slightly bigger and heavier than Chris, which gives him some advantage and helps him to knock him down, holding him to the ground with his huge claws and getting a bite on his shoulder that makes him give a cry of pain that seems more the real roar of a bear. Chris pushes the bear with his legs, hitting him in the stomach and backing him up, allowing him to stand up again to take a breath while trying to clear his mind.

In one of the cargo compartments, the girls fight hard against the machines that seem to have no end, Jimmy, manages to shoot each shot with great mastery from his control station aboard the ship covering the backs of his friends and constantly communicating the position of the enemy and describing the diagram of the boat that is able to observe on their monitors with the help of infrared vision - Girls I get six biological signatures that approach you in the right aisle - Warns the young pilot to his friends - They seem to be dogs and also carry control devices - Jimmy just finishes the warning, and appear in front of them half a dozen of huge canadian wolves that throw themselves against them without hesitating - Be careful Koki, we should not hurt them - Exclaims Aviva to her friend who already holds in his hand a small piece of rhinoceros horn - They can try to bite all they want, if they manage to bite me! - Koki says enthusiastically as he activates her suit and takes the form of an Indian rhinoceros, with a skin so thick that it gives the appearance of wearing a medieval armor on top.

Koki goes ahead of her friend and uses her body as a barrier, the wolves immediately surround her and try to attack her, but her thick skin is impossible to hurt, using her horn, Koki manages to keep the wolves at bay, but they turn out to be too fast and three of them manage to surpass her, reaching to Aviva, that tries to destroy with her claws the apparatuses that they wear - Jimmy!- Calls the tigress to her friend - Throw a pulse to the wolves, try to deactivate the devices that control them - Will not that hurt them? - Ask the redhead pilot who is showing off his aim by disabling zachbots and dodging shots - No, they will be fine, the electromagnetic pulses only affect the electronic components they carry on - Jimmy manages to avoid some shots and points to the surrounding wolves to Aviva, one by one, the artifacts are deactivated releasing the wolves from Varmitech's control, however; they are still animals that in the middle of the confusion and the attack of the machines become aggressive due to the fear that the situation causes them. The other three wolves that attacked Koki are also released and finally, the girls manage to lead them to a corridor where they lock them and continue to advance.

Back in the ring, the fight to the death continues, Chris already begins to feel the battles of the bear and retreats a little each time that it attacks to him. Varmitech observes in his tablet the advance of the invaders watching with anger that they go to the area of the cells while it tries to disguise his rage in front of his guest, ordering more machines and animals to try to stop their advance - It seems that your fighter is running out of energy Mr. Varmitech, I hope you have a replacement or something, I would not like the show to end so soon, especially when it has managed to capture my attention - The investor declares that he does not lose detail of the encounter - You don't have to worry, I will just give to him one more dose of stimulants to increase his response - Explains Varmitech at the moment that indicates in his tablet the administration of another dose to Chris, who when feeling the puncture again at his neck, throws a baffled look towards the box where the spectators are. He can feel his temperature rise, almost as if fire came out of every wound that the bear has caused him, making him feel a great fury by being in that situation and panic due to the great strength of the bear. In his cell, Martin awaits with obvious anxiety for his brother's return, circling and murmuring to himself, until he manages to hear in the distance the commotion caused by machines and animals trying to stop the invaders, without even imagining the origin of such chaos. With hope he thinks - Is it Chris? Will he have escaped? - Uncertainty only makes him feel discomfort, until he momentarily loses his balance and falls sitting on the floor leaning against the wall trying to control his emotions and his breathing.

Near the cell compartment - Girls, there's a big machine in the next compartment and it's not alone. There's… there's… An elephant, it's an elephant too! - Jimmy announces in a nervous voice by the CP of the buzz bike. As they crosses the door, a huge machine appears in front of the girls ready to attack accompanied by an enraged elephant who immediately knocks Koki and throws her to the other side of the compartment, Aviva tries to catch his attention but she is retained by the huge machine that hold her tight - Jimmy! - Cries desperately the help of his friend who can barely keep at bay the zachbots that come behind them - I'm going girls, I'm a bit busy here! - Exclaims with great concern totally concentrated on not allowing that they destroy the machine that directs. Finally it manages to free himself of the zachbots although it receives two shots that destabilize the bike and make it lose control, managing to recover it just in time to hit to the machine that holds Aviva and releasing her it of its grip.

Koki, on the other hand, struggles to stand, the elephant's strength is overwhelming, barely able to dodge his onslaughts and keep his tusks away from her body. Aviva, in an attempt to obtain DNA from the elephant to reactivate her suit jumps on him nailing her claws an instant in one of its sides and jumping again before receiving a blow of its trunk, managing to change her form now in that of an elephant.

From the box, Varmitech eagerly watches the girls' advance, which infuriates him, barely keeping himself calm in front of his guest who observes with interest the development of the fight, since the effects of the second dose of drugs that were supplied to Chris have already been present. Suddenly, the noise of the machines and the attacks catches the attention of the viewer, who asks for the origin of the sound. Immediately, Varmitech pulls out of his sleeve a fictitious explanation, trying to hide the events that arise out of there - They are ... only training sessions for future fighters and tests of some of my machines.

Aviva confronts the elephant and manages to hold his trunk, giving Koki the opportunity to reactivate her suit and join her friend to face him, being now surpassed in strength and pushed to a corner where Jimmy uses to throw a pulse and disable the machine that controlled him. Free from the control device, the elephant calms and extends his trunk to sniff the other two elephants who strangely have a similar smell of his that helps to avoid more attacks in spite of the agitation that the elephant still presents. The girls manage to finally move forward leaving the elephant locked in that cellar and when they deactivate their suits, sneak through one of the access doors to a narrow corridor, which finally leads to the site where Martin is, who in a moment, gets standing startled to recognize the buzz of the motorcycle approaching and see his two friends appear at the entrance and immediately approach the cells.

\- Koki! Aviva! - Exclaims Martin with great excitement waving his arm through the fence - I am so happy to see you girls! Are you Ok? Is Jimmy with you? - I'm here dude, I'm glad to see you again, but where's Chris? - Exclaims Jimmy with joy through the CP on the buzz bike - What happened Martin where is he? – Aviva asks to see the other empty cell - Girls, the machines took him a while ago, I have no idea where, please get me out of here, we have to find him, maybe he's fighting right now or maybe Varmitech is torturing him or who knows what he might be doing right now. Come on, hurry up! - Martin begs his friends, while they look in their pockets for some animal species that allows them to open that cell.

\- Gorilla! - Koki says triumphantly. Activating their suits with the shape of the great ape, both girls hold the grate and give a strong pull at the same time managing to pull it off. They barely turn to drop the grate, and both girls feel a sudden blow on their backs as they are held tightly by the neck, and as they look at each other they realize that they are being attacked by the most powerful hug they have ever received from their friend, who almost took their breath away - Girls, I love you! Thank you, thank you, I knew you wouldn't leave us here - Martin releases the girls and offers a hug to the bike too - Oh, Jimmy! I'm glad to hear you too, my friend. - The hug is interrupted by the young pilot's warning - Guys, more machines are coming! And… I also think I found Chris!

At the ring, the marker has turned; the bear is now surpassed by Chris' attacks who is immersed in a complete aggressive frenzy, biting and striking furiously, leaving marks on the floor with his claws with each blow that fails to hit his opponent, the bear receives the order to continue attacking although it is already weakening by the inclement attack. Chris can no longer distinguish reality from the hallucinations that cause him a murderous rage

Outside, in the hallways; the rebel group moves in the direction of the ring in search of Chris - I found Chris's CPS electronic signature, it is activated - Announces anxiously Jimmy as he makes his way through the narrow corridor leading the group, eliminating one by one the zachbots they encounter - Here is Zach's laboratory - Says Aviva - Here I found your CPS Martin, was being analyzed by the computers – We have to recover it, surely I will need it - Martin declares with anguish. Upon entering the laboratory, more zachbots face them, but are quickly destroyed by the girls still in their gorilla form.

On the box, Varmitech observes how they seize the CPS and launches a growl of rage that catches the attention of his guest while listening to the roar of the fight and destroyed machines - Are you sure it's everything all right, Mr Varmitech? Cause I think there's something more important on your screen than the events in front of us - Varmitech has no choice but to accept it - Ok, I admit, there is a small inconvenience arising in these moments ... That requires my attention, but as you have seen, my proposal is by far, superior to what you have seen before, isn't it? - I must admit that your proposal has a lot of potential Mr. Varmitech and has definitely managed to capture my interest - Says the businessman - But first, be sure to solve definitively whatever is causing you problems and then we will talk - Without further ado, the entrepreneur withdraws of the box followed by his guards while his assistant hands him a business card to Zach - It's a pleasure, Mr. Varmitech, we'll wait for your call.

Back in the lab, Aviva manages to remove the CPS from the computer connections and scans it with her CP before handing it to Martin - Excelente! It seems to be working 100%, but first, we must deactivate that collar so that Zach can't control you anymore – But, Aviva - Martin reminds her with an expression of bewilderment - The key to deactivate them was destroyed in front of us by Varmitech, How else will you do it? Now we don't have time to find a way to use the computers for it, we must find Chris first - Jimmy? – It simply says the gorilla girl, taking Martin by the hand and heading him outside the lab where Jimmy awaits with the buzz bike - Shoot Martin - The surprised Kratt remains undaunted by the statement of his friend looking at her with his blue eyes wide open – Wait, What? – With sudden fear, Martin tries not to run away - Jimmy, Don't! Wait, wait!... - Martin quickly takes his hands to the front as a shield and closes his eyes at the buzzing produced by the pulse generator and retreats a few steps giving a cry more like a girl than an adult man.

\- Don't be scared Martin - Koki tells him - You can open your eyes silly, the electromagnetic pulse can't harm living beings, only electronic devices, so that horrible collar should no longer be a nuisance - Even with mistrust, Martin resumes his composure by clearing his throat, trying to disguise the scare he has just carried - ... Uhm, yes ... I… already guessed… - Aviva scans the collar and corroborates what Koki said – Listo! It is completely deactivated, it doesn't emit any signals. We will see later how to take it away, but at least, Zach will no longer be able to use it to hurt you - With a sigh of relief, Martin puts on his CPS and with renewed eagles he sets to activate it, asking the girls for some of that gorilla hair they used to transform - Girls Where did you get gorilla hair? - He asks the moment to activate his suit, to appear transformed into a huge and powerful silver-backed gorilla of almost 500 pounds - Well - Koki responds - We took an express ride through the zoo in bird suits and we managed to collect many samples of all kinds of creatures, hair, feathers, scales and even some pieces of rhinoceros horn using woodpecker powers - Cool! - Answers Martin - Now let's go for Chris!


	11. Rage

On the deck of the boat the businessman appears with his bodyguards, who immediately guard him when noticing the presence of the Tortuga suspended in the air over the boat. Immediately they begin to shoot while the man and his assistant take refuge inside the helicopter, ready to leave. In Tortuga's cabin, Jimmy informs the situation to the team while activating the camouflage mode that momentarily confuses the aggressors when the ship disappears in the air. Taking advantage of their confusion, Jimmy manages to direct Tortuga's turbines towards the deck throwing the subjects to the ground, forcing them to leave their weapons in search of something to hold but the impulse is too strong, causing them to roll for several feet and throwing them overboard into the water, the boy knocks down one of the lifeboats that hangs from the sides of the boat, so that the subjects can climb to it.

In the helicopter, the assistant prepares to take off the aircraft, but the propeller is immediately destroyed by another sure shot of the redheaded boy. The two men leave the helicopter, trying to get back on deck only to be thrown into the water along with the bodyguards who rescue them and get on the small boat to get away paddling as soon as possible to land, while Jimmy returns to the conflict inside the boat.

The team Kratt leaves the laboratory and walks to the ring led by Martin, who deals blows to right and left to easily destroy hostile machines. Meanwhile, Varmitech heads to the cargo compartment where the animals are being prepared to confront the invaders with their control devices, waiting to be ordered to attack. But before he can get far, he is intercepted by a huge blue-haired creature who, with a powerful roar, makes him fall on his back. - Zachbooots! - Screams the frightened psycho on the floor as he tries to stand up, but is arrested quickly and lifted in the air almost hitting the ceiling of the hall - Where is my brother? Martin exclaimed furiously, barely holding back the powerful desire to crush his chest at that very moment. Without time to even react, a shot hits Martin's right arm and lets Varmitech go, who immediately flees between the machines that pounce on the huge gorilla. Trembling with fear as he manages to move a few steps forward, Varmitech looks in his pocket for the remote control of the collar, quickly adjusting it to the highest level and directing it to Martin with a hint of hatred, ready to do away with the enormous figure - Let's see if you still want to keep challenging me, you damn Kratt! - Threatens the perverse subject ready to release the shock. Martin barely manages to see Varmitech aiming the control towards him and pressing the button, making him back to the moment that he lets out a scream. Varmitech sees Martin's reaction smiling, while the girls behind him watch him in disbelief.

\- Uh, sorry ... It just took me by surprise _he he_ ... - Martin confesses to the girls with a nervous giggle, embarrassed by his reaction.

\- What? Come on damn it! Why does not the stupid control work? - Exclaims Varmitec skeptical of what he sees, pressing the control buttons repeatedly while continuing to aim at his supposed target, which without wasting time, continues his attack on the machines, which are falling one by one. - The toy you gave me no longer works, you can't hurt me again you freak - Martin yells as he walks down the hall behind Varmitech.

\- No way! Damn, it! That bastard managed to defuse his collar, but the one his brother carries still works perfectly - With this in mind, the resentful subject returns to the box from where it observes to Chris that continues attacking to the bear that already can hardly keep standing and simply tries to move away of its aggressor. Varmitech takes again his tablet and indicates the opening of the ring's doors, leaving the bear out that scarcely manages to flee when his attacker is momentarily distracted by the injection of a third dose of drugs that make him give an enormous roar and take it to a completely psychotic state.

The team finally manages to do away with the zachbots, but on the verge of reaching the ring they encounter the injured bear that barely manages to advance, falling heavily in front of them too weak to continue running or fighting, Martin approaches him and removes the control device. Feeling a great pain, because momentarily there is nothing that they can do for him more than to release it from Varmitech's control - Aviva whispers to him softly - Resist bear, we will return to help you, please don't die - And she continues her way with the rest of the team with a lump in his throat - At last, the team arrives at the ring where Chris is trying to destroy one of the walls, tearing bits of metal with his teeth and throwing them in all directions.

\- You wanted to know where your brother was blue boy? Well there you have it! It's all yours. If you can handle him! - The deranged man laughed when he saw the pain in their faces at the sight of the frantic green Kratt - You better stop him before he kills you losers - Adding salt in the wound, the infamous Varmitech informs the team Chris's current condition - And as an additional fact, it only remains to be told that your bestial brother is carrying a triple dose of the drug that I injected you with blue boy, so you will probably already have an idea of what is going through his mind right now. Well ... if he still has something that can be called mind!

Varmitech flees the place leaving the team seriously dismayed. At that moment, Chris senses their presence by watching them for a moment, standing up and giving a great roar, clawing in the air, falling again on all fours and starting a powerful race ready to attack them with a totally upset look. Martin steps forward quickly, and with his shoulder, he stops his brother who tries repeatedly to bite him in the neck and shoulders, thus preventing Chris from reaching the girls, who desperately try in vain to get him back. - Come on Chris, please! Enough, please stop! Chris! It's me, brother! - Martin repeats again and again without getting even the slightest reaction in him. Aviva and Koki go to help Martin by holding each of Chris's hands, allowing his friend to hold him in the back trying to immobilize him while the girls fight calling him and begging for an answer, but neither are they able to make him come back to himself not a bit. The drugs unleash on Chris a physical strength and resistance far superior to those of his friends who try not to hurt him, because his body is already covered with wounds.

Despite the team's attempts, Chris manages to break free, throwing the girls to the ground, and contorting his body to deal a terrible bite to Martin that forces him to release his brother. Chris is in the form of a grizzly bear, one of the largest and strongest animals in North America, capable of reaching up to 1100 pounds, which makes this normally peaceful man, a practically unstoppable rival who can't be beaten not even by three gorillas.

The girls manage to distract Chris while Martin recovers slightly from the attack. Jimmy is outside the ring barely managing to keep at bay the zachbots that have been sent to finish them while the brothers fight. Chris attacks with fury, striking blows and scratches to the girls who can barely get out of his way, Martin throws himself to their aid, jumping on the back of his brother who easily knocks him over and over again. In spite of the situation, Martin still contains himself, since he has observed the wounds in Chris' body, his coat is stained of blood, as much of him as of the bear he fought previously, causing Martin to feel a great pain when seeing his brother behave that way and in that condition.

\- Jimmy hurry up! - Martin shouts to his friend, looking for help to defuse Chris's suit, as they barely try to bring a hand to deactivate it, Chris sends furious teeth and claws.

\- Girls! I need you to transform into something bigger… To be able to contain him, while I… Distract him - Martin instructs the girls, who still refuse to let their friend confront his brother alone, even for a moment, otherwise by the action of the three at the same time, Chris would have already managed to seriously hurt any of them - Come on!... Do it now! - Martin shouts desperately.

The girls finally accept and retire to a corner disabling their suits, to look for some other species that may be of more help - Koki, take, we'll use this - Quickly, Aviva pulls out of one of her pockets, a long hair from the tail of the elephant they faced before - It's our only chance - Just the girls manage to reactivate their suits and prepare to help Martin, when a group of zachbots appears through the roof hatch of the ring, just to complicate things more - What? This has to be a joke! - Koki says with great frustration.

\- I will finish the zachbots, you go help Martin - Aviva tells Koki who is going to the center of the ring, where in an instant; reaches to see with horror the right moment when Chris knocks Martin and gives him a bite in the throat. Martin strikes the head and sides of his brother in desperation, trying to free himself of his powerful grip. Koki approaches them, and with a strong blow of her trunk, manages to push Chris, causing him to roll on the floor, leaving stains of blood on the floor where he fell – I'm sorry Chris! - Koki says when seeing his friend rise staggering from the ground shaking his head stunned by the blow.

\- Martin, are you okay? – Koki asks with concern to his other friend who is also on the floor, with his hands on his throat, coughing and trying to catch his breath - I'm fine, he could not hurt me, well, at least not too much - Martin responds by watching his hand and feeling the scratches on his neck.

Chris gets even angrier at being knocked down like that. He throws himself back to his friends, but this time Koki waits for him, ready to stop him even if she has to knock him out - Koki please don't hurt him - Martin begs seeing the form his friend now has - He doesn't know what he's doing, please don't hurt him anymore! - Sorry Martin, but he's not leaving us many more options, we need to stop him before he really hurts any of us.

Aviva faces a horde of zachbots, barely manages to destroy one, another takes over instead –Acaso Zach manda construir estas cosas en China? There are too many - She exclaims in frustration and anger - Jimmy how are you? – I'm still a little busy here - Jimmy responds with agitation - The buzz bike is badly damaged, I can hardly stabilize it, the zachbots are too many and I don't know how much more the battery can withstand.

Koki prepares to receive another attack from Chris - Come on Chris, I need you to get tired enough so that you can be still for a while - The brunette girl tells him the moment she uses her tusks to lift Chris and throw him to the ground again away of them, not before receiving a blow in her chest, which damages the mechanism of the suit making her return to her human form – No way! Really? - Koki simply says in disbelief. Martin gets up again - Koki, give me that elephant hair you used to transform - Aviva has it - She responds as she heads towards her friend dodging the zachbots - Aviva! I need the elephant hair, quick! - Aviva extends her arm so that Koki can take the hair from her pocket while still beating the machines that refuse to give them respite. – I have it! Martin! - Martin is already again dodging the attacks of his brother, barely managing to escape his enormous claws - Upon seeing this, Koki tries to activate the career function of her suit, hoping it will still work in a desperate attempt to help her friend, before it's too late – Voice command: Activate race function! - And to her surprise, the suit still works, activating a sort of half-way transformation that slightly resembles the anatomy of a cheetah's legs, giving Koki enough speed to get close to Martin, give him the elephant hair and dodge Chris's blows, drawing his attention away from her friend who quickly stands up and walks away to be able to reactivate his suit.

Martin disables his suit and changes it activating elephant powers that, in spite of feeling his body much stronger than before, feels also heavier, because the fatigue begins to gain ground in him. Even so, he throws himself into the fight, ready to face his brother once and for all and stop him before he actually manages to hurt any of them.

Koki runs and jumps around Chris, catching his attention, trying to tire him as much as possible and causing him to spin around the ring, but suddenly she slides with a bloodstain on the floor falling right in front of him, who manages to reach her and biting her arm savagely shaking her through the air, making the girl give a loud cry of pain and throwing her against one of the walls, leaving her unconscious on the floor. Chris leaps against her to finish off when he is struck by Martin who uses his head like a ram and pushes him to the other side of the ring, stopping abruptly to hit one of the walls, being stunned enough to remain still for a moment, which gives Martin time to watch for Koki.

\- Koki! Koki are you okay? - Martin barely finishes the sentence and sees with horror the arm of his friend who is crooked in a completely abnormal position, denoting immediately the serious injury suffered in the mouth of her attacker.

Chris stands up again, wobbly, shakes his head and watches Aviva who is near him still battling with the zachbots that finally seem to be decreasing their number. Aviva, in the middle of her fight with the machines, manages to see at her side an enormous figure that approaches her, and makes her distract, receiving a blow from one of the machines, which makes her fall to the floor just at the moment when Chris leaps against her. Aviva manages to hold his claws with her hands and takes him by the neck with her trunk, immobilizing him momentarily only to be directly impacted at the side by one of the zachbots, which knocks him down and allows Aviva to stand again to destroy the machine that shot her friend – Only three more, only three more, I must finish them at once – She thinks to herself when sees the machines that continue in the fight. –She hears Chris roar behind her and sees him approaching again, fortunately one of the zachbots crosses his path only to be shattered in an instant by one of Chris's claws that continues his advancing. Aviva takes one of the zachbots with her trunk and throws it against Chris striking him in front and making him back a little, distracting him enough for Martin to approach his back and finally catch him with his trunk by the neck, holding his arms with both hands enough for Aviva to get his suit off just as the group is hit by the last remaining zachbot, dropping them all to the ground in the middle of a green flash. The zachbot approaches them but is disabled by Jimmy's shot who has finally managed to deactivate all the machines that were trying to enter the ring.

As the multiple fight unfolded in the ring, Varmitech managed to escape through the corridors of the boat, completely furious, throwing all kinds of insults at the team Kratt for having ruined everything once again, just when he believed he had achieved his greatest victory over them.

\- Damn it, those damn bastards! They ruined my best chance to stop them, damn it! Damn it! But they will not be able to get out of this ship, if necessary, I will sink it with everyone inside! - " _You always fail_ " - It reminds him of the voice in his head that makes his blood boil. Totally angry he walks through the corridors and through doors muttering insults and complaints as he passes over the remains of his useless zachbots, until he enters one of the corridors, and to his surprise; he encounters the group of wolves that he sends himself to fight against the intruders. With a cold sweat running across his face, he stands still for a moment without knowing what to do in front of the animals that watches him – Don't approach you stupid vermin, get away, get away from me! - Screams the frightened subject in a desperate attempt to keep away the wolves who, normally shy and elusive in front of humans, now become aggressive in front of Varmitech; because the noises caused by the fights and the shots of the machines coupled to the confinement in a completely strange place for them, have made them very nervous and aggressive. - " _You will not get out of here_ " - Again the voice inside him - Varmitech barely notices that the wolves take a few steps towards him, they watch him and growl with their heads low and their ears back; and he runs back to the door trying to get out of there detonating the hunting instinct of the pack that quickly gives him reach and attack him fiercely - " _See? I told you…_ "

Varmitech's desperate cries echoes, and gets lost in the cold iron corridors, without being heard by anybody but by the altered creatures that he himself took to that place, and that he will never be able to bother again.


	12. The End of the Fight

Martin and Aviva are lying on the floor of the ring, still stunned by the shot of the zachbot, but conscious enough to realize that at last they have managed to deactivate Chris's suit, which is now in its human form, but totally disoriented and unable to stand. The sudden impact of the firing and the transformation of his body left Chris out of combat, finishing completely with the total display of aggression that only a few moments ago invaded him, leaving his altered mind in the middle of a chaos of thoughts, colors, forms and sounds that make him lose all notion of his being, leaving his body in a fight against himself by regaining his balance and standing up.

\- Aviva, go see Koki, I'll go with Chris - Says Martin to his friend who is heading towards her, who has already regained consciousness, but is seriously injured - Koki, are you okay? Wait, don't move - She tells her friend as she helps her to lean against the wall and hold her broken arm, while Koki tries to withstand the sharp pain that even the slightest movement causes her - I'll be fine ... It's just the arm - Says Koki with a gesture of pain, which manages to bear bravely - How is Chris? I… could see when… Ugh!… you disabled his suit and… the zachbot shot you, but… I don't like how he looks. Go with him, I'll be fine.

Martin approaches Chris and tries to hold him to calm him as he continues to struggle to coordinate his movements, without much success. Finally he stands still for a moment, resting on his hands and knees, breathing hard and shaking with the effort and confusion that invade him - Chris, are you okay? Come on bro, tell me something - Chris does not seem to hear the words of his brother who in an attempt to bring him back to reality holds his arms and lifts him, shaking him a little while he looks straight ahead. Martin's movement and grip seem to work, Chris looks straight ahead at his brother still unable to distinguish his face. After a moment of uncertainty, Chris finally seems to react, fixes his eyes on Martin and holds his wrists tightly. - Yeah, that's it lil' bro, it's me, come on, tell me how you feel? - Aviva meets with them and takes Chris' head in her hands, making him face her.

Out of nowhere, Chris begins to struggle trying to free himself from his friends, he shouts desperately trying to get away from them, because in his mind are still present the effects of drugs that alter him and takes him away from any conscious action. The visions of strange and enormous beings that surround him and imprison him make him enter into a total state of panic.

The expression on Chris's face completely amazes and puzzles the team as it only reflects an indescribable fear, followed by distressing cries of despair as he writhes and struggles violently to free himself, kicking and pushing Martin who holds him even more strongly in an attempt to bring him back to reality.

Upon seeing this, Aviva immediately disables her suit and moves away from Chris who does not stop fighting totally frantic. - Let him go, Martin, let him go! It's already too upset, we're making it worse - Aviva asks Martin who immediately releases the arms of his brother, finally allowing him to move away from them, dragging himself without being able to coordinate his movements to get to his feet. Martin disables his suit also showing Chris his true form, waiting for him to finally recognize him.

\- What are we going to do? How can we get him out of that trance? – Jimmy asks about to cry in a trembling voice, because through the camera on the buzz bike he is able to observe the spectacle without being able to do anything for his friend. - He does not even recognize us, he does not even seem to be able to see us in human form! - Aviva exclaims in fear, totally distressed by the reaction of her friend, who is leaning against the far corner of the ring while trying to escape the horrible imaginary beasts that haunt him.

Martin stands up, about to break into tears for the state of his brother barely taking a step towards him, when suddenly; he sees his brother standing still with an expression of pain on his face that immediately changes to an abnormally serene state. Chris simply collapses and falls to the ground before the anguished look of his brother who quickly runs towards him the moment he sees with great fear the convulsions that are present in the body of his brother. Chris's body can no longer withstand the wave of emotions, physical effort, blood loss and above all, intoxication in his brain that is completely out of reality and normal functioning.

\- Chris! - Aviva shouts and also run alongside her friend who suffers from a terrible convulsive crisis, unable completely to do anything for him while they see him contort and contract his muscles. Martin hugs his brother now unconscious, begging for him to wake up and return to normal. In a little more than a minute, the convulsions stop to everyone's relief, leaving Chris completely relaxed in the lap of his brother who looks at him with relief leaning his body over him, bringing his face to his shoulder and giving him a strong hug. Koki manages to stand up and move closer to her friends, more worried about Chris than for herself and her broken arm.

\- Chris? Chris? - Fear takes hold of Martin's heart in an instant - He is not breathing! Chris doesn't breathe! - Martin shouts desperately as he sits his brother's body on the floor and brings his ear to his mouth desperately trying to hear his breath and tries to feel his pulse in the vein under his jaw staring at his chest for the slightest movement. Nothing.

Without losing a second, Martin puts his hands together and places them in his brother's chest, preparing to apply CPR, hoping to return life to Chris's traumatized body- 1 ... 2 ... 3 ... Begins to do the compressions on his chest begging for his brother's life, Aviva is positioned next to Chris's head ready to introduce air into his lungs coordinating his actions with those of Martin. They finish the first cycle of compressions and Martin revisits again in search of the long awaited throb in Chris' neck. Nothing. Another cycle of compressions and insufflations is carried out by the couple trying eagerly to obtain a response. Followed by one more and another one until completing six cycles. Sweat bathes Martin's face, he feels his arms shaking with effort, while blood from the wounds on his arms and neck continue to flow, staining Chris's chest a little more with each compression. Nevertheless, he does not surrender to the critical condition of his brother.

\- He's dead - Koki says in a weep, almost inaudible voice, covering her mouth with her hand and closing her eyes tightly. Tears bathed her face, feeling her heart tear as she was utterly unable to do anything for her friend –He's dead - Repeat completely devastated – Please…Leave him... Leave him alone, please, let him rest now. - Koki's words stick like daggers in the heart of the whole team.

\- Dead? Chris is ... dead? - Jimmy asks from the Tortuga's cabin, dropping his controller with a wince, unable to believe what he sees through the monitor in front of him - My... My brother ... No, please don't ... - Martin refuses to believe it. He refuses to believe that it's all over for him, bows to Chris's inert body trying to hear his heart again, wanting with all his might to hear something. Nothing.

Martin utters a heartbreaking scream with all the force of his being, that is drowned by his brother's clothing as he embraces him. After a moment of pain, Martin returns Chris's body to the ground and without saying anything, continues with the compressions in his chest, totally frantic ignoring the cry and words of his friends who try to make him see reality - _NO!_ \- With a furious cry he continues and continues for two more cycles of compression, feeling as the blood is crowding in his veins, as his arms hurt and his shoulders are numbed by the effort. His tears fall on Chris's chest mingling with the blood on his clothes.

A sudden movement of Chris's throat marks the exact moment when the whole team regains hope. Martin paralyzes while watching the still inert face of his brother and seeks his pulse. There it is. - He's alive, my brother is alive! - Martin thinks to himself watching Chris, who finally tries to catch the rhythm of his breathing still with his eyes closed. Martin falls backwards, sitting on the floor, assimilating the marvelous achievement of having recovered his only brother. The shock of seeing him alive again is too much for him, that he even finds it hard to believe. As if time stood around him, at the moment he watches the movement of his brother's hands as if he were trying to cling to life itself.

Martin bends over him again, calling him fervently, finally Chris manages to open his eyes slightly even without the remotest idea of conscious thought. The girls watch with great rejoicing the miraculous recovery of Chris - You did it Martin! You did it! You did it! ... - Repeats Aviva again and again giving thanks to all the deities and forces of the universe that could have happened to her, at the same time that Koki simply is limited to releasing in weeping recharging her head in the shoulder of her half-conscious friend taking his hand. Jimmy, meanwhile, makes his voice resonate with great shouts of joy that echo in all rooms of Tortuga throwing his cap of happiness and falling to his knees on the floor.

Finally Aviva is the first to regain her composure and impatiently react to her friends - We have to get him to Tortuga as soon as possible to stabilize him, we still don´t know what conditions he really is in. - Wiping the tears from his face, Martin lifts his brother from the ground and gets on the buzz bike- Jimmy, Jimmy answer me! - Martin calls in haste - Here I am guys! - How is he? - Still nervous, the pilot on the speaker asks– Jimmy, take the buzz bike to Tortuga, Now! Chris needs urgent attention, hurry up please! - From his position, Jimmy immediately takes his controller and rushes to steer the buzz bike, which, despite the damage it presents, still works enough to take the brothers down the aisles of the boat until they appear on the deck. Aviva helps Koki get to the Tortuga boarding ramp, which Jimmy has brought down as close to the boat as possible.

On board Tortuga, Chris is immediately taken to the main salon and placed on the work table. Aviva scans his body with one of the CP, to know his vital signs and his general condition - Has lost almost 30 ounces of blood - Aviva begins to read the results of the scan - He has two fractured ribs, his heart rate and breathing are still irregular, but they seem to be stabilizing- Martin gives a groan of relief at the words of Aviva. Still with tears in his eyes, he comes up to him taking his hand tightly - Oh, Chris bro, please it's me, tell me you're okay, yeah? - Koki also approaches Chris petting his head - Come on friend, tell us something, anything - Between mourning the brunette engineer asks – Martin watches his friend still holding her injured arm - Koki, you need attention too, we need to get you both to a hospital as soon as possible - I'm on it. - Jimmy's voice is heard from the ship's cabin. - We're headed to West Palm Beach. There we can take them to a hospital, please resist, we will arrive in a little more than two hours.

\- For now, there is not much we can do for Chris, rather than watch him until we get to the hospital, Koki, let me see your arm - Aviva improvises a sling for her, trying to keep her arm as stable as possible to avoid further damage to it.

Having taken care of her friend, Aviva addresses Martin, who is still standing next to his brother - Come with me for a moment Martin, I will remove that nasty collar – Martin follows Aviva to her laboratory, where she takes a small precision saw out of a drawer and in less time than Martin would have imagined, he is finally free – Listo! Esta porquería no volverá a molestarte jamás – Aviva says to the moment that destroys the collar breaking it in pieces - Now we go with Chris - She is about to do the same thing in Chris' collar, when Martin remembers to her that his was never deactivated – You're right, his collar still works, if I had tried to cut it, maybe it would have caused some shock or something, so cutting it is not an option and we can't use the pulse generator inside the ship either - Martin asks with concern - And now how are we going to remove it? - Well, I have two hours to find out - Aviva goes to her laboratory one more time and returns with her lap top and a cable that connects to the activation slot of the collar, and she sets out to find a way to deactivate it.

After almost an hour of running programs and searching the software programmed by Varmitech, Aviva finally manages to deactivate the operation of the collar, which allows them to get rid of the last element of the control that Zach Varmitech exerted on them, once and for all.


	13. Facing the Facts

Almost 12 hours later, Chris finally opens his eyes, but is blinded by the intense light of the room. Trying to cover his eyes with his hands finally manages to articulate some words - The light - Says softly to the figure that is next to him but can't distinguish - Please ... Turn off ... that ... light.

Martin approaches with a smile to the bed where his brother rests, who covers his eyes with his right hand while with the left, touches his body realizing that he does not wear suit or shirt, being able to distinguish some bandages in his torso and repairing in the pain that is lodged in his shoulder and chest letting his hand rest on the bandages. Removing the hand of his still closed eyes and carrying it to his neck, he discovers with an indescribable sense of relief; that he's free - Chris, we're in a hospital - We got it bro, we got out of that boat - Martin says softly to his brother, who at his words, immediately opens his eyes too sensitive to focus correctly trying to get up on the bed, but is stopped abruptly by the pain of his ribs that make him let out a groan, followed by a smile.

Please Martin, tell me it's true – Yes Chris, it's true - Koki's voice is heard coming into the room and taking his hand, followed by Aviva who closes the curtains of the room and Jimmy who happily approaches Chris, who finally manages to focus his sight – How you feel, lil' bro? - Martin asks him by putting a hand on his head - Chris watches his friends with a feeling of indescribable relief, despite the sharp pain in his chest and the multiple cuts, scratches and bruises scattered throughout his body - It hurts everything, I feel dizzy and my hands shake and, and ... momentarily is astonished to see the general state of the team members - Guys, What happened? - Martin, you're covered in wounds! Koki, your arm, are you okay? Martin… Did you fight again? He asks with concern to see his state - It doesn't matter, the important thing is that we are all here - Koki answers with a smile -I'm fine, don't worry - Says Martin with a soft voice - It's just a few bumps and scratches ... and bites ... and bruises ... and scrapes ... But I'm fine, it's not the big deal - How are you, little brother?

Chris tries to remember what happened - The last thing I remember, is that ... I ... I was in the ring and Zach and another guy were watching ... There was also a bear attacking me and I, I think I activated my suit and ... Damn! I can't remember, everything is very confusing - Chris told what happened trying to tidy up his memories - Zach, he ... The damn drugged me before facing the bear - Suddenly, with sadness in his eyes and fear in his voice ask his friends - What happened to the bear? What happened to Varmitech?

They all look at each other until Martin responds - We found the bear outside the ring, he ... He was very hurt Chris, we could not do anything for him, I just took the control device he was wearing, and we left him in the hall - Chris's face reflects courage and pain at hearing those words - Chris it was not your fault, you know that well brother, but come on, cheer up; a few hours after we brought you here, Aviva and I returned to Zach's boat and the bear was still in the same place, fortunately still alive, we were able to stabilize it enough and best of all, is that making some calls, I got one of the wildlife refuges in Orlando to receive him and give him veterinary attention until he completes his rehabilitation so that it can be returned to Canada, the bear is now on his way to the sanctuary, the veterinarians will attend, you will see that it will recover - The news returned to Chris the optimism that had momentarily disappeared from his face, at least until he asked for the cause of all his problems - And Varmitech?

When we return to the ship - Aviva begins - I did a complete scan of the place, to look for him if was still there and to know how many animals are in it and yes, I found him. He was in one of the corridors ... Next to a group of wolves that had sent to attack us when we entered the boat to look for you and that Koki and I had left locked up there. Zach no longer exists.

\- Upon hearing this, Chris is silent with a serious look - He reaped what he sowed, nothing more - It was all he just said about him.

With a different expression on his face, Chris says to the group - Guys, we must return those animals to their habitats, they can't stay there any longer, who knows since when Varmitech has had them – Don't worry about it now Chris, the rest of the animals will be fine - Martin assures him - I contacted the headquarters of the World Wildlife Fund and I informed them of the situation, they are ready to help us to return all the animals to their places of origin and they will also contact other organizations to do it together with several countries. Chris, the animals will be able to get back to nature very soon, where they belong - Gosh Martin, that's great, that's why you're the big bro! - Chris congratulates his brother with his thumbs up and a smile of relief.

With some help, Chris manages to sit up and stay on the edge of the bed where he rests, while the team tells in detail what happened and why his condition. Chris finds it hard to believe - I ... I was ... d-dead? His face blanched like a ghost, as he put his head in his hands trying to assimilate it. - But you came back brother, here you are again with us ... with me- Martin says while giving him a gentle hug – It's not yet time to separate us lil' bro - Not caring about the pain of his wounds, Chris back the embrace with all his strength - You made me come back, it was you, you never gave up. Thanks Martin. Thank you. - Embracing his brother, he apologizes to his friends for having caused all this damage, his heart twists with the sole idea of hurting them, his only relief is that he has no memories of it, for he would not have been able to forgive himself of having had the slightest notion of his actions - Chris, you better understand this right now, please - Martin tells him holding his head, forcing him gently to lift his eyes and looking directly at him with a serious, almost annoying expression. _It Was Not Your Fault_!. None of us blame you for anything that happened on that ship, so neither should you. Got it? - Chris just nods as he wipes the tears from his eyes - Thanks, everyone.

Chris goes to bed again, as some of the side effects of the drugs he received were still present - Rest bro, I suppose you should have a hangover with the crap that Zach gave you, and also so you can heal soon, because we still have a lot of work to do to be able to release these animals, it will be fantastic to go back to Africa, we could visit He Who Breathes Fire and his pride, for at least he is not among the stolen lions - Martin encourages him.

\- That would be great - Chris responds the moment he closes his eyes - Yes, it seems that the work never ends for us, right? That's the way it is - Answer the oldest of the two - There will always be animals to rescue or habitats to explore, otherwise, things would be very boring, the difficulties that come to us after all, are the same thing. In addition, we have not been able to test those new functions that Aviva installed in the CPS - Yes, you're right - Chris answers in a soft, drowsy tone. - It would be great to run again through the African savannas, but for now, I just want to sleep.

Soon, Chris falls asleep while Martin watches him with tears in his eyes giving thanks for having him by his side again, having overcome the hard test that they were forced to pass, for having such brave and capable friends, but above everything, to have a new opportunity to continue doing what they love so much, rescue animals and enjoy life in freedom.


	14. Epilogue

It is almost noon, a light snowfall decorates the cold air of the pristine Canadian Yukon lands, an area where wildlife proclaims its own. The scarce human population and the abundance of resources available for wildlife make it the ideal place to carry out the culmination of a long process of almost two months, in which the work and dedication of a group of people with great love for living beings and an unwavering will, finally succeeded in giving back to a particular animal; the opportunity to be free again.

A small part of that group is in the middle of a huge forest that seems to welcome them with the movement of the trees before the winter breeze and the distant sound of the eagles in flight.

Well gentlemen, our work ends here - Exclaims a burly man to the members of the team Kratt, he is the head of veterinarians in charge of the medical care and rehabilitation of the bear that was used by Zach Varmitech in his wild show and was involuntarily injured almost to death by someone who in his five senses would never have been capable of such an outrage - The bear is fully recovered, and has accumulated enough fat in his body during his stay in the shelter to survive the winter that is already approaching, will soon hibernate and that he better do it in complete freedom - Continues the man with an expression of total satisfaction for the work done.

\- You don't know how happy it makes me hear that - A young brown-haired man with a thick green jacket answers - This bear deserves to live in freedom, where it belongs, I hope that transport cage is the last one he sees in his life- And so it will be bro - Affirms the man with the blue jacket - That will be as long as there are people who care to keep the natural areas protected and the animals safe. Fortunately there are still many more people who are assured of their well-being.

\- So, who will do the honors? - Ask the man to the brothers, to take the final step and open the door of the cage- Come on Chris, you do it - Martin steps aside giving way to his brother pointing with his hand the way. Chris approaches the cage and looks with emotion at the bear who, impatiently, moves inside the cage ready to go - I hope you will forgive me for all the damage I did to you, it was never my intention to make you go through that. I hope you can be happy in your home again.

He speaks with longing for the creature, who looks at him through the grating with eyes completely free of any possible feeling of anger or rancor, his only aim is the forest is in front of him. With a movement of Chris's hand, the door of the cage opens, the bear takes a few steps towards the front sniffing the air, touching the snow with its paws and trying it with its tongue like a child tries a candy, it seems to recognize the sensation of the cold air and the snow that melts in his nose, and without paying attention to the figures that watch him, the bear begins to advance with hurried steps that quickly become a fast race to finally lose itself between the forest thicket.

Chris watches the bear get lost in the forest, completely embedded in his thoughts until he is brought back to reality by feeling a stick on the collar of his jacket and a cold snowball on his back. With a look of astonishment, contorted by the ice cold underneath his clothes. Chris gives himself to life again, ready to continue protecting the wild creatures and help them to return to the place to which they belong while enjoying nature and having fun in his brother's company.

The End.


End file.
